Posts by Jennifer Dougan
Don’t Blink. Don’t Miss a Moment of the Joy!
Basketballs ricocheted off concrete and clanged against blue chain link. I plucked green grass and bent it methodically in fours, snapping after each bend. “Are you okay?” I had asked her. “Your eyes look sad.” She laughed wryly, surprised, and we started talking more. Four of us sat on a blue blanket, legs outstretched or…
Read MoreLeaning Close to Speak of Betrayal
Night falls in blue twilight and my neighbor’s white blossoms glimmer green in the dusk. My son’s small feet patter back to his room, and a distant car whirs. The pointer finger on my right hand rubs across a smooth right thumb, but it’s all wrong. I’ve been betrayed by my body. Photo Credit: Flickr…
Read MoreOur Best Spring Forward Beauty Truth
He perched on the black armchair, hanging off the right edge. His blonde head hung upside down, arms trailing the cream carpet. “…and then I fought the boss…” Daniel’s words rippled on, describing video game adventures and I tried to pay attention. Photo Credit: Flikr user T. Papadopoulos, Creative Commons cc license Pinching lips shut…
Read MoreThe Question that Dangles For Us Who Grieve in this Season
It was after her question at the hardware store. Trudging across broken pavement in biting snowy cold, we pushed hands in pockets deep, my arm through hers protectively. Inside the red box store, she asked it –my mom wanting to know — and it has reverberated inside the depths of me still. “I want the…
Read MoreOn the Dark Nights When You are Counting Days and Remembering
It is three weeks ago today that I last talked with my Dad, last heard him speak back. That day blurs into that night, and then it was Friday 2:08 am and he was gone. My sister, mom, and I had tracked the evening hours on a paper chart, slipping in soluble morphine and attavan…
Read MoreWhen You Feel Like You’re Just Hanging On
It had been hanging by a thread for a while. Silver filament too flimsy for such a pendulous weight. Mark had even warned me. “Jen, are you sure this chain is strong enough?” “It’s fine,” I said, sliding the round silver Courage pendant onto the silver chain. This morning in the dark hours before full…
Read MoreTransfused Strength, Vitality, and an Unshakable Force for All Your Rough Roads Ahead
It was right past the homeless man with the guitar, and I loved that he was jiving and rocking along to the music. Our homeless gifts bags slid around on the floor at my feet, and I can’t remember if we were able to give him one that day or if the intersection light turned…
Read MoreA Joy and Peace That Bubbles Up and Pours Over
In relaxing melody, water tumbles in endless waterfalls in the fountain below me. A green and orange recycling truck rumbles buhBUM buh, buhBUM buh as it stops by our house. Glass knocks against glass. He drives a house or two away. BuhBUM buh, buhBUM buh and then silence with a hum as he exits our…
Read MoreHow Flashes Deep Within the Atom Reflect the Life We’re Hungry For
I’ve been mulling it over — this line I saw recently and can’t remember where. Mulling it over while dragging sprinkler hoses across hot grass lawns, while driving kids to appointments and swim lessons, and every time I curl up beside family and friends while stretching summer long. Iced coffee cubes crash against condensed glass,…
Read MoreOf Baby’s Breath, Wedding Lilies, Burial Urns, and Daily Glimpses of God
It rains now. Silver staccato on burnished green leaves; the roads a wet black. And it reminds me of those teens several weeks ago, screeching and huddling under a single umbrella. Their four adult-sized figures spilled out from under the protective rain cover, while Blake yelled good-naturedly, “You’re stealing my umbrella!” My daughter and three…
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