Suffering Well

As a child, sometimes I wished that God would send me a lifetime of suffering all at once, a few seconds of horrible pain, and then I’d be happy for the rest of my life. That amount of pain would probably have killed me. And had I survived, I probably would not have...

Self-Esteem

1991, carpooling 2 bunheads to after school ballet class: “Hey Jessica, did the self-esteem guy come to your class today?” “Yeah, Vanessa, it was SO funny! The guy picked Kelly to sit on a chair and told her to sit or stand depending on how she felt, then he said you...

Grandfather’s Udder Wisdom

The only time I spent alone with him, my grandfather talked about cows’ udders. “You got to take care of cows,” Grampy told me, sitting in his worn rocking chair in Grammy’s kitchen, slurping his usual milk-and-sugared-tea, rubbing his wooden leg, a phantom of one...

Forgiveness

Blog topics often generate at serendipitous intersections. An idea might occur to me out of some experience, and soon thereafter the same key word crosses my path. Today’s topic is a case in point. A few days ago, Keith and I watched the 2011 movie adaptation of...

Sweet Dreams

Do you have sweet dreams? Me, not so much, in fact, my wee-hour dreams almost invariably tend towards the upper limits of frustration and occasionally fear. Last night’s followed suit – until it didn’t. Location: a train station waiting room, my mind registered...