Home & Family
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Book banning
“Ideas are only lethal if you suppress and don’t discuss them. Ignorance is not bliss, it’s stupid. Banning books shows you don’t trust your kids to think and you don’t trust yourself to be able to talk to them.” ~Anna Quindlen Last night, I had the pleasure of working at one of my favorite local libraries. Before my class started, I enjoyed a quiet moment, browsing the shelves and absorbing the ambiance created by so many literary choices. And then I thought about all the recent talk on TV about book banning. As my mother used to say, you can make just about anything twice as attractive or interesting by…
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Anniversary musings
“When marrying, ask yourself this question: Do you believe that you will be able to converse well with this person into your old age? Everything else in marriage is transitory.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche Last month, Doug and I celebrated our 42nd anniversary. During a celebratory dinner at a local restaurant, our server asked us if we’d share the secrets of a long and happy partnership. She was living with her boyfriend, she said, and wasn’t sure about their future together. Doug and I assured her that the success of a marriage depends on the couple — and every couple is different, of course. For us, shared values and interests are essential,…
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With or without family … party on!
“You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn’t depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family.” ~Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society While holiday traditions are practically imprinted on our DNA, not all of us are able to continue them with our biological families — for a variety of reasons. As families change or move in different directions, so do our celebrations. I’m an only child from a small family. My parents are gone, and few of my close relatives live…
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When it’s time to let go
“The art of letting go of your child must come in stages. We grow with them as parents, but our hearts are never truly ready for them to leave the nest.” ~Jennifer L. Betts Reclaiming and repurposing my son’s childhood bedroom happened “in stages” — long after he left home. For a while it remained unchanged, a memorial to the past. I wrote about the process in a reflective essay that touches on the importance of letting go of our earlier parenting roles and embracing the future. The essay appears in the October 2022 issue of Vitality magazine (in The Oakland Press), which will be available in print next Thursday.…
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Domestic arts
“I no longer call such tasks ‘housework.’ I call them the ‘domestic arts,’ paying attention to all the ways they return me to my senses.” ~Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith One of the things I’ve admired about Martha Stewart is the way she elevates homekeeping to an art form. Along these lines, Episcopal priest and author Barbara Brown Taylor finds the sacred in her everyday tasks. In her book, An Altar in the World, she approaches the “domestic arts” with mindfulness — and the belief that cooking our own meals, washing dishes, and taking care of our personal space can be a pleasure and…
