Author Archives: Musings

Lena was patient, gentle, sweet, and German. Gertrude Stein, “Three Lives” I have been thinking lately about Lena, and how much I miss her, and how exceptional she was. I met Lena the summer of 2012, when my three children and I moved with our fourteen suitcases to Astana, Kazakhstan to join my husband, whoContinue reading “Gentle Lena”

I have been thinking a lot about connection. The Pandemic has been hard for many of us. We have felt alone in our pain. We have been angry about vaccines and lockdowns, and frustrated with people who don’t share our masking beliefs. And it’s hard at times like this to find the balance between honoringContinue reading “Cutting Greens”

Reckless Abandon Lately, I’ve been thinking about the term reckless abandon. And how much it bothers me. Probably because of how I read the word abandon. For me, abandon means rejecting external voices and conditioning in favor of one’s internal truth.  I think of Patti Smith who said, “In art and dream may you proceedContinue reading “Reckless Abandon”

I’m struck by how fast we move these days. We rush from Point A to Point B. We start our days with agendas and we approach moments in our lives with fixed expectations. But what about everything in between Point A and Point B? What about surprises and serendipity? What about slowing down and smellingContinue reading “Consider a Tree”

Lately, I’ve been thinking about sadness. Maybe because I’ve been trying for five years not to be sad, not to say that I miss having my kids at home, not to admit that I feel a bit lost. That lost sad woman just didn’t fit with the version of myself in my head. I hadContinue reading “Sadness”

My eldest daughter and I have started our own mother/daughter book club. She reads a book and sends it to me. I read a new book and send it to her. The choice of book communicates what matters to us, what we are curious about and what conversations we want to have. She chose Plath’sContinue reading “Conditional Love?”

My three Gen-Z kids worry about their futures. Are they doing enough? Will this messed up world get any worse? What is their life’s purpose? As their mom, I worry too. Last week, thinking about my kids, I went down the YouTube rabbit hole, as one does when one has a hundred other things oneContinue reading “A Perilous Thing”

I had postpartum depression after the births of my three children. It was the worst after my second child, because I am an only child and had no clue how to manage the needs of two children. When I had two-year old Eleanor wanting me to draw with her and newborn Dietrich needing to beContinue reading “Walking each other home”

My life has been circumscribed by music. Roseanne Cash Every significant memory I have is steeped in music. “Silver Bells” calls to mind childhood Christmases. I was humming “You are My Sunshine” just before a drunk driver ploughed into our car when I was ten, sending us all to the hospital. “Nothing Compares to You”Continue reading “The Path”

We all have stories that need to be expressed. Some of us dance our stories, others sing their stories or cook their stories or paint their stories or yogasize their stories. Me? I write my stories–mostly as poems, sometimes as blog posts, and now and then as an essay or memoir. When we express ourContinue reading “Hey, you got a minute?”