Small and saving graces
Photo by Emery_Way, on Flickr Sometimes we look for earth-shattering, far-reaching, stunning and tremendous ways to change the world. Friends are reaching out to Rwandan refugees, but I do not. Friends are running races to raise awareness for the plight of women in the Congo. But I do not. While I admire them and their ways of reaching out and spreading their love and caring and kindness into the world, this is not my way. At least not today. At least not this moment. At least not during this season of my life. For me, today, I write my small words and I raise my small kids, and I do many small things that I write about here. Things that no one (besides you, dear readers) will ever know that I do. To take an example, here is one small thing that I am about to do:...
Read MoreScratchy whiskers and well-worn boots
These are my husband’s shoes. We’re thinking that, in the next few months or so, he might need a new pair. When he first bought these shoes, he said he had found perfection for his foot. He was going to go and buy 50 pairs of these and when they had all worn out, that was it. He would know that he was done on this earth. I convinced him, after some time, that this might not be the most effective way to invest our money right now. So this is his only pair and he’s been wearing these things for more than 2 years. We walked in recently to the place where he bought them in the first place, and they snapped some photos to send to Patagonia, seeing as how the company values sustainability, plus the sole has held up, which is pretty impressive. We all...
Read MoreMy Brown-Eyed Boy
“Hey mom, where’s the duct tape?” My 7-year old son would really like to know. “I don’t think we have any right now.” I am lying. Really I’m just saying this because I’m in the middle of writing something, and I don’t want to get up and fix whatever toy whichever neighbor kid broke. And then I see the toy my son is holding up. A rocket launcher with a torn nerf missile. It doesn’t hold pressure anymore and won’t fire due to the 3-inch hole in the side. I was supposed to fix it last weekend and I promised him I would and then I forgot and he put it away in his room. I feel bad, so I put down my laptop and push aside the puppy who is sleeping on my legs, stretched out on the couch. He’s already found the tape, and he brings the materials to...
Read MoreReasons Not to Skip Your Vacation
A vacation has a way of cracking open my way of thinking. It allows me to be more fully myself because it shows me how very many ways there are of being in the world. I can choose my own way of being because I see there isn’t just one way to do it. A good vacation boosts my appreciation of home. It opens up the world a little bit, makes me appreciate the grass in my front yard, the scent of my sheets, the apples in my fruit bowl. And it makes me swear I will never eat another French fry or hamburger ever, ever again for as long as I live. We have just finished a vacation like that. We’re a little sunburned, a little tired, a little closer as a family. Our floppy-eared dog is happy to see us.
Read MoreSomeday I’m going to be a professional adventurer
Just the other day, my husband and I were talking about how, someday, after the kids have left home and before our bones crackle with age, we are going to be professional adventurers. Neither of us are sure how well that pays. And the Internet is a funny thing because, just today, I happened somehow upon an interview with a guy named Andrew Skurka, who it would appear, is a professional adventurer. His official job title is “long distance adventurer” In this interview, he is asked how well professional adventuring pays. “Well,” Skurka says, “I have sponsors, I do a lot of public speaking, and I do private guiding. I also keep my expenses pretty low and avoid owning a lot of possessions. It helps that I’m only 28 and don’t...
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