“Be careful of the riptides, man. They are pretty dangerous right now.” A toothless, homeless-looking Hawaiian, looks up as we walk past, dangling snorkels in our hands. Us new to the islands. Him, a local.. And sometimes those that have been around awhile, those that have rode the waters, tasted the tides, those that have experienced […]
How to Stop the Rat-Race and Enjoy the Ones You Love this Season
I pull her from her crib. Eyes fix on the sparkling lights that shine across a dark room. And who doesn’t like light when it pierces bright, fluid, right into our very own souls, in a room black, void of seemingly any light at all? I know her story. And while spirits run restless, shift, dart, […]
What a White Mom tells her African American Daughter about Ferguson
“It’s sad and scary.” She sits straight up at the pub-style chair before heading off to school. Her eyes just seeing fire-laden pictures of Ferguson burning the night before. She is eight. And contrary to everything in me, wanting to keep silent, wanting to shield her innocence from a world gone crazy, wanting to hide in […]
When it’s Time to Step Outdoors and Live.
Who would have guessed? White, powder-like grace covers the ground. Eight-year-old shouts from her window, scrambles downstairs. Warm clothes on. Wanting to rush out and make snow angels. Our smallest one and I, much slower. Me, remembering the cold, her not knowing why the green trees, pasture, and everything she has known since she has gotten […]
The Secret Gift of Thankfulness
In a world so full of fires, wars, shooting, looting, hardships, chores…it can be hard to sit back and be thankful. We set aside a day, maybe once in a while quiet our minds, and toss up a line to heaven; a too-small detached nonchalant phrase of gratitude because “good Christians” are “supposed” to do that. […]
We Really Live, If….
First, I just wanted to say a HUGE, “Thank you”. I cannot tell you with mere words the overflowing love you all gave to my daughter and what it meant to her and to myself. As many of you know, it can be hard sometimes to put our hearts out there, vulnerable to so many people…online. […]