Magazines
-
My essay in the Bella Grace Autumn issue
Bella Grace has been a sanity saver throughout the pandemic. It’s the first magazine I reach for when I want to calm down, escape the hard news, and tune out the white noise around me. I often refer to it as a grown-up picture book, with dreamy images that never fail to transport me to another place and time. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to get my work published in the Autumn 2021 issue . My essay, “I’ve Never Outgrown the Magic of Halloween,” is featured in a four-page spread with evocative photography by Melanie DeFazio and Lexia Frank. I’ve never been more pleased with the presentation of…
-
Preparing for the empty nest: An essay about letting go
“It is not what you do for your children; it’s what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” ~Ann Landers As I post this, a good friend is on the expressway, driving her only daughter to start her first week of college in another state. I’m reminded of an essay I wrote a few weeks later after I settled into my newly emptied nest. The piece was first published in Metro Parent magazine, and later republished in Guideposts. To read it online, click here. Today our son is a married man with a family of his own — yet the topic of launching our kids to adulthood…
-
The Healing Power of Gardening
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” ~May Sarton Gardening restores me — no matter what else is going on around me. The essay below is a tribute to my Scottish-immigrant grandfather and his garden. It first appeared a few years ago in Country Gardens and was reprinted in the American and British editions of Reader’s Digest. It’s also included in my essay collection, Writing Home. Grandpa’s Ferns My grandfather was the proverbial Scottish curmudgeon, born and bred on a farm in the Orkney Islands. In his…
- Featured, Frank Lloyd Wright's Carl Schultz house, Magazines, Newsweek essay, Pandemic stories, Where I'm published
Sheltering Wright: My essay in NEWSWEEK
“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” ~Frank Lloyd Wright It’s hard to believe a full year has passed since the global pandemic reshaped the way we live every day. Last spring, when the monotony of living in lockdown set in, Doug and I decided to spend more time at our Wright home (the Carl Schultz house) in St. Joseph. Prior to the pandemic, we’d put a great deal of effort into renovating and upgrading the home and its surrounding property — but rarely took time to actually live in the place and enjoy the results of our labor. The pandemic motivated us to change that last year, and it inspired an essay…
-
The dog who rescued me
“Dogs have the ability to forgive, let go of the past, and live each day joyously. It’s something the rest of us strive for.” ~Jennifer Skiff, The Divinity of Dogs While many of my newly retired peers are hitting the road in search of new adventures, I’ve been sticking closer to home, enjoying life as a late-blooming dog owner. This still comes as a surprise to longtime friends who’ve always pegged me as “a cat person.” But current research shows that dog ownership can add a few more healthy years to our lives. Click here to read my essay in Metro Parent’s Guide to Helping Your Aging Parents.
