winter stillness

nature’s sedative the crisp rime that brines stillness ice that pricks with sound like a deer’s ears to footsteps remnants of tranquility This week has been another frigid one! Driving to work yesterday, I watched the thermometer plummet all the to -26 degrees Fahrenheit before creeping back up to hover around -16 when I arrivedContinue reading “winter stillness”

Loose Teeth

Branches drag water pull trunk taunt from the shoreline to taste the current, form unimagined ripples, yet never sever their roots. Lately, my husband and I have been thinking of ways to help our 3rd grader express his emotions. At school this year, he has had difficulty handling any reprimands from his teacher and eitherContinue reading “Loose Teeth”

Poem: Summer Brain

Whispered wonder under the apple tree. Branches reach down gently to brush small heads, spill emerald secrets, ivory glee, springtime mysteries eager to be read. Above, joyful clouds freckle shadows. Sun light baptizes their investigation. A zephyr sighs, twigs twirl, a gray squirrel runs, rose-breasted robins trill near the basin. Little eyes move on, butContinue reading “Poem: Summer Brain”

Learning to Let Go

My husband and I loaded the kids, the dog, and everything else we needed for a couple days on the road into the car late Friday morning. He’d already been into work earlier that morning, into which time I’d tried to force an entire day’s worth of grading, emailing, and student meetings while our threeContinue reading “Learning to Let Go”

Two Under Two Plus Cancer

NOTE: I originally wrote this piece two years ago, in February 2020, while going through chemotherapy for stage 3 breast cancer. Though times have changed, my kids are still crazy. I had a really weird dream the other night. I was in a dimly-lit room, a combination movie theatre/computer lab/lecture hall. A large projector screenContinue reading “Two Under Two Plus Cancer”