My dad’s parents each died when I was in high school. In both instances, I received the news via phone call and began the moments of grief alone. When my grandmother died, the school staff were made aware and quickly came to comfort and surround me with love. Days later, my parents and siblings traveled… Read More Extended Grieving and the Contemplation of Legacy
“Time to take down the tree that smells like vomit and clean up the huge mess.” A friend posted something along those lines on social media recently. Indeed, rotting tree stump is an unpleasant aroma. And I know I’ll be finding needles under the couch at least until Memorial Day. As I carefully removed the… Read More The Journey Tree
It never fails. We save up for a vacation that requires a flight and, on the return, we ask the kids what they liked best. All three, in unison – “the movies on the plane.” Guys, we went to Kauai! This is Hawaii’s garden island, the island with the most miles of beach. This is… Read More Highlights that can’t be bought – Kauai, Hawaii
Every year I am struck by the one-liner about Mary in Luke’s account of the Christmas story, the one line that gives a hint of how she responded to the unfolding events. She rode a donkey while full-term pregnant, traveled far from home, pushed out a baby (as my children call it) in a barn,… Read More Where is the treasure in Christmas?
Transition. The word makes me tense. Our family is currently in the midst of transition, relocating from Eastern Europe to Southern California. For many, the end of summer signals an impending transition – families moving, new neighbors, new church, new job, new house with a different floor plan. For some, transition does not include a… Read More Perspective in the Midst of Transition
We spent most of the month of July in Namibia, Zambia and Tanzania with family. Here are a few things I learned. 1. Washing clothes by hand cleans your fingernails and stretches your hamstrings. Sometimes, while traveling, washing machines are available. Sometimes they are not. In Africa, it seems Westerners are often content to wear… Read More Learning in Africa
It was a dinosaur. There’s no other way to describe the gnashing, crushing jaws, and the swaying neck that toppled the wall into rubble and sent the roof collapsing. In minutes, smiling faces were buried under piles of Lisbon ceramic roof tiles, twisted rebar and mangled air conditioners. We were fascinated, pausing longer than intended… Read More A Demolition, and other forms of unplanned entertainment in Europe
In Europe, bridges don’t look like they used to. Over the course of years, many famous bridges have become weighed down with excess metal in the form of padlocks. Tradition, hearsay and plain nonsense suggests that two lovers who fix a padlock to a bridge and throw the key in the river will seal their… Read More Commitment, Europe’s Bridges and How to Finally Free Your Toddler from the Curse of the Pacifier/Binkie/Dummy
This week finds us traversing Eastern Europe in our silver station wagon, keeping our eyes peeled for scenic potty stops, street food and playgrounds. On Monday we drove through southern Romania and crossed over the Danube River into Serbia. On the Michelin map, this route is highlighted in green, which signifies a scenic route. The… Read More The Danube River and Serbian playgrounds
This month we crossed the Danube River by ferry and spent a weekend in beautiful Sofia, Bulgaria. February is still technically winter, but most Europeans will attest that this winter has been extremely mild. February ushered in an early spring. When we visited Bulgaria, the snow was gone and the breeze was warm. But… Read More February in Eastern Europe
