I have a special love for Hannah in the Old Testament.  Her song on the promise of her pregnancy is the precursor to Mary’s Magnificat, and it never fails to move me.  Next month it will be 45 years since my first son was born, a full-term stillbirth.  The Lord gave me...

I dream of flying
and in my dreams
I leap and hope that wings
will turn my leaping into soaring
but legs can feel like the trunks of trees
and root me to the ground
with talons caught in solid earth

I watch the birds
take off so effortlessly
unbothered by scorching heat
or the twinges of ancient hinges
and...

In the summer
that we locked our doors against our neighbors
and crossed the street to avoid one another
I became a mermaid
the water my preferred milieu
I would swim farther and farther each day
trying to outdistance germs, disease and age 
I thought I could exist forever
in the warmth of waters
...

Anyone moving from coast to coast across America by air has no idea of the peculiarities and oddities of small towns.  Furthermore, people crossing this country by car via the interstate system give Kansas and the states of the Great Plains a bad rap.  There are definitely long...

Way back in March, my husband came to me and asked if I’d like to see James Taylor at the Hollywood Bowl in May, for my birthday.  I was so touched, because I know that Dave is less of a fan than I am.  I thought that I had seen James Taylor live for the last time several years...

Each year I end my Michigan summer with a photo of a sunset over the lake.  It isn’t the last sunset or the prettiest sunset or even my favorite sunset.  Every night is a unique and inspiring display.  But this year it was one perfect moonset that took my breath away.  I...

After our travels with Charlotte, I thought that the rest of my summer would be spent in our small summer community on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Once I’m there, I have little inclination to go anywhere else.  But my daughter surprised me with the idea of a Labor Day weekend...

On the penultimate day of our travels with Charlotte, we headed out on our final excursion.  I had planned a hike through one of my favorite of Indiana’s state parks, Turkey Run.  About an hour away from Indianapolis, there are hiking trails through stream-carved canyons,...

Some of my fond memories from my school days in Indiana involve field trips, and one of my favorites was to the Conner Prairie Farm.  It’s a living history museum where docents dress in period clothes and adopt a persona of someone from another era of American life.  When we would...

Last week, I pulled a necklace out of my jewelry box.  It has two charms on it, both from my grandmother’s old charm bracelets.  One is a simple heart with my name and birthday on it.  The other commemorates the anniversary of my parents’ first wedding.  As I put...