Archive for March 2013
Easter Thunders at Skeleton Head
Thunder breaks without warning at 4 am last night, like two semi trucks crashing and tumbling on the street outside our window. Startled awake, I lie in the dark and revel in the milder rumbles and lightning that follow. I wonder if this is what the earthquake sounded like to the startled Romans and Jews…
Read MoreUnderneath the Mom Hat… It Stirs
The sun sinks behind the bustling farm supply store to my right, and pink twilight stains treetops outside my deck window. A moment more and the pink is gone, with navy clouds tangling in the trees. Kenny G’s sax trills, and quiet settles over my home. Four-year old sleeps, my teens have disappeared downstairs, and…
Read MorePeople-Watching in Ancient Israel (And Seeing Myself)
Photographer Itamar Grinberg, Courtesy of Israel Tourism Photographer Dana Friedlander, Courtesy of Israel Tourism On a sleepy snowy morning this week, I cuddled under my covers for the last ten minutes of sleep. My husband had just slipped off to work, and my teens showered and dressed on their own. Cracking open the bedroom door,…
Read MoreSneaking Romance into the Work Week
Photo Credit Last night, we maneuvered city streets, wove in and out of rush-hour traffic, and held creased paper map outstretched. “The parking ramp should be right here, on Chicago and Lake Street.” Yellow awnings flapped cheerily in the winter breeze, and snow melted into slush. After a u-turn and my man’s skilled stick-shifting, we…
Read MoreOf Grimy Hands and Potter’s Wheels
Photo Credit Slippery hands grasp hard. Rosy earthen clay spins, turning on the potter wheel. “Look at how resistant the clay is to being centered,” she says, standing on tip toe and leaning hard into, onto, the clay. Silvery hair tucks into a short bob, with stray curls hanging wispy at the neck. Dark navy…
Read MoreHypocrisy and French Onion Soup
Photo Credit to www.sodahead.com “Why are so many Christians hypocrites?” she* asked. “Not you or your sister and parents, but so many others,” she muttered, staring at the sandwich in front of her. “Pretending perfect, they go to church, but we all see it.” Snow flies past the window and onto the slushy sidewalks outside…
Read MoreA Scary Privilege: How We as Moms Set the Tone
This Saturday, it fell apart. “Why is it that the day before a Youth Sunday, everything somehow goes so badly?” my husband asked, sliding a hand through his hair in exasperation. “It never fails.” Toddlers dissolved into tears; teens argued; but mostly it was me. I argued, raged, and dissolved into tears. In an embarrassing…
Read MorePraying in Four-Four Time
A sagging snowman curtsies in the sun as I pass, and a clanging flagpole rope whips in four-four time in the wind. Spring sidles up beside me, slipping in and out of the clouds this week. Mismatched mitten-hands shoved into red jacket pockets several times this week, as I crunched in Minnesota snow and whispered…
Read More