7.15.21 Dear NJH, Happy heavenly birthday and thank you for teaching me that the value of a Saturday night was not in who asked you out (unless Dave the trucker, the one with the CB radio, was passing by on US36) but in how you spent it with yourself lathering up with Prell and rinsing …
Dear Reader, No, you're not seeing things. It's catch-up time with a post-dated title. Remember, I'm a Taurus sun and Taurus moon. If I don't follow an established pattern of behavior, no matter how belated, the world will descend into chaos...lol. I thought I'd type this yesterday, as is my usual Sunday ritual at the …
Dear Reader, First and foremost, happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmoms, aunt moms, pet moms, and dad moms in the crowd. Here in Ohio, it's (wait for it...) rainy, cold, and cloud-covered, which may put a damper on outdoor gatherings, but if you're lucky enough to still have your mom in your life, …
Dear Reader, I missed chatting with you last Sunday for good reason: I turned 50. I'm still processing, as each time I see the number in print (verbalizing doesn't seem to be the same trigger), I have to take a minute or two and connect the five to the person I feel I am. I …
Dear Reader, Years ago, a friend said he stopped using the word 'stress' because it's entirely made up and he got tired of hearing it. I mentally rolled over the word and the concept, as writers do, and realized that it's a construct of our perception, not real--actions, words, people, and things can do things …
Dear Reader, Spring has sprung, in the best of ways. Last week was spring break from school, and while it felt extra odd to be taking a break when we had only returned to the physical classroom three weeks prior, the time away to process, release, and find my way back into myself was long …
Dear Reader, Today's note is coming to you a little earlier than usual, if you even notice. My usual Sunday morning routine of spending the morning in my local, tiny, coffee shop is being preempted by teaching this morning, and a full afternoon of errands, lesson planning, meditation class homework, and working on an essay …
Dear Reader, From the first piece of writing ever published, the debate of what makes a writer 'a writer' has raged. Are you a writer because you write? Are you a writer only when you publish? Are you a writer only when you are paid for your work? Or are you only a writer if …
Dear Reader, Just as we've gotten used to the beauty of the morning sunrise here in Ohio, Daylight Saving Time swooped in to steal it away. No one likes an hour less in a day, what with all we have to accomplish. Many of us approach fall with the thought that when we turn the …
Dear Reader, If there's anything more lovely than having the time and space to luxuriate in a sunrise in early March, I haven't found it yet. Despite having a long (and ever-growing) list of to-dos to accomplish before heading back to school tomorrow, I allowed myself to watch the orange yolk of the sun crack …
Dear Reader, The end of February is probably my favorite season of the year. For most of my life, I have suffered from seasonal depression, and the ongoing joke I have with friends is that if February were cut out of the calendar, every year would be great. Alas, we still have that sag of …
Dear Reader, Goodness, time flies. Where do I even begin to catch up? I could start with the same silliness I share in my middle school ESL classes on the first day back after Christmas break and exclaim, "Wow, I haven't seen you in a whole year!", which most students laugh at (and others respond …
Dear Reader, What an utterly dreary midwestern fall-winter day. On the far edge of fall and the front edge of winter, I woke up to a downpour of bone-cold rain and melancholy gray skies to match. As luck has it, my favorite Sunday-writing coffee shop (don't worry, we're all masked and hand-sanitized to the hilt), …
Dear Reader, Thank you for stopping by this week! It's an absolute shock to realize we have entered November, the gateway to all things festive and holiday, when it seems that we just joined spring and the longer, sunnier days. It seems COVID has a way of either compressing life to make the passage of …
Dear Reader, Thanks for stopping by the blog, or clicking through. If you've noticed I haven't posted since late July, it's not from a lack of want. I am actually having the opposite creative issue: I am writing too long and too deeply to post. I started this blog when I was bitten with the …
Words by Beth 