My mom and I once made a solemn vow: If either of us is ever in a coma, we promise to pluck one another’s chin hairs. My petite, five-foot-tall mom once grew out a single hair to see how long it would get. The coarse black hair spiraled below her chin until my brother and […]
Welcome To The Brave, New, World
by on March 27, 2019 Leave a Comment
Dear Leah, In two months, everything will change. You will pack your bags, move across the country and into a small apartment to live with your partner (who you will then call husband) and his two cats. You will look for a new job. You will hunt for a grocery store that you like, and […]
Sisters In Mental Illness: Ministry of Weakness
by on March 25, 2019 Leave a Comment
“My spiritual gift is weakness…. I show up weak. I’m always sick or I’m struggling. There’s always something that’s lacking. Maybe that’s my gift to the church—to show up and say that’s OK, and God is with us in this and He is good. Problems don’t all get fixed and I’m not healed. The bow […]
This Business of Aging
by on March 21, 2019 Leave a Comment
At every age and stage of my life, there have been specific words that triggered something in me—sometimes that something looked like resentment or strong disagreement, even a visible feistiness. More often, however, the clearest emotion rising from specific words or phrases has been . . . shame. During my growing up years, any reference […]
Learning to Speak Again
by on March 14, 2019 1 Comment
“I heard you’re back at work. How’s that going for you?” “It’s been really great. But it’s just part-time.” *** “Goodness, your boys are busy. Do you have any other kids?” “Nope, just the two.” *** “I really loved the last essay you wrote. How often do you write?” “Just the one piece a month.” […]
