My mother has been gone for just over three years now. Her physical departure was a time of both grief and relief, for I had been losing her, bit by bit, over the previous decade. My father’s death in 2005, followed by my youngest brother’s sudden death four years after my dad’s, left my small […]
Thankful For All the Wrong Things
by on February 7, 2019 1 Comment
I birthed my first babe a week ago. My unwashed hair is scraped into a lazy bun, my eyes sunken from lack of sleep. I’ve been wearing the same pajamas for days. Shuffling to and from the bathroom is a major event now, and I’m embarrassed by how difficult those few pathetic steps are. It […]
Acedia and the Gift of Epiphany
by on January 2, 2019 Leave a Comment
Autumn had the potential to be an exciting season. My daughter started her freshman year of high school. She loved all her classes, flourished in the drama department, and was content in ways that delighted me. My son played fall football, and began his final year of middle school. I’m surprising with him football game […]
Self-Care for Warriors 101
by on October 24, 2018 3 Comments
For me, warriors are people who challenge the systems that create the conditions we live under. “Challenging” can mean storming Ottawa or Washington, DC to change laws or it can be sitting in the waiting room of a psychiatrist’s office at a place of total honesty about how our very minds are betraying us. Warriors see […]
The Psalmist’s Voice
by on July 11, 2018 5 Comments
By Naomi Pattison-Williams | Twitter: @NaomiWilliams87 I have a fair-weather relationship with the Psalmist. Oh, we have long sung in unison, My lips accustomed to the rhythm of Dwelling in the house of the Lord forever; Being led to green pastures; Lifting my eyes to the mountains; and Finding refuge under the wings of the Almighty. But they […]
