Daily Thoughts
A Little Something to Talk About
Thursdays are one of our busier days because each of our teens has a weekly appointment, one requiring the 15 year old to get out of bed more readily than on the other days so she can get to her weekly volunteering and the other requiring the 17 year old to be ready...
Not Short on Stories
Because we recently finished reading Remarkably Bright Creatures and have been reading several of William Shakespeare’s plays, I decided to share a few of my not-quite-polished short stories with my girls. Unlike the novels I’ve worked on and that my 17 year old has...
It Is New…and That’s Okay
The art of self-reflection, of being self aware, is an art I am seeing more and more in each of my teenagers who are right now 15 and 17 and yet wiser than those years. Those numbers do not reflect who they are becoming or what they are learning, learning about the...
Filling Fall with Creative Flare
A few years ago, instead of taking down our Christmas tree, I thought it might be kind of fun to keep the tree up and make it an around-the-year tree. Maybe I didn’t want to have to pack it up and get it back in the closet, but actually I’d seen something online...
It’s Just That Simple
Although I am not nearly as consistent as I want to be, I tend to bookend my days in gratitude. For me, I find that focusing my mind on the things for which I am thankful helps to shift any tendency I may feel for worrying or carrying cares and concerns into my day or...
I Have to Smile Myself
Today was one of those perfect fall days. The kind of day where the sun is shining, but it’s not like the hot summer sun. The kind of day where the air is cool and there’s a breeze shifting the curtains in the windows. The kind of day that offers an invitation to come...
Incredibly Bright Creatures
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I love spending time reading books aloud with my two awesome teenagers. Right now, we are reading the New York Times Bestseller Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, and I have to say it is an absolute delight—both the...
Freedom of Expression
There is an old, and ridiculous, expression that has irked me for many, many years, that children should be seen and not heard. I have traced the origins of this phrase from its coining by John Mirk in his 15th century religious writings directed to “young maidens,”...
Secret Languages & Inklings
When I was 14 years old I had a friend in the neighborhood with whom I spent a lot of time. I remember at one point in the summer we were intent on getting ourselves into the Guinness Book of World Records and decided to do that by earning the record for two people on...