I just came in from mowing my lawn, and pulling up a mess of matted, withered, crunchy and dry flower stalks in the beds. It's almost fall, and though it hasn't turned cold and STAYED cold yet, everything is in the process of turning crunchy and withered. I could have let those splayed out viny… Continue reading Let’s Talk About Death, Baby… wait, should we? Shhh!
Tag: difficult conversations
Through unlined eyes…
Some time over the course of this summer, my daily guilty pleasure eye-liner habit slipped into an every other day thing. And then a few-times-a-week thing. Until summer break drew to a close, and over a week went by with nary an eyeliner application.Was it having the kids home, and less time for myself? Nah.… Continue reading Through unlined eyes…
Attachment, abandonment, and being a pastor’s spouse in the time of Covid
There's a lot swimming around in my brain right now, and for some reason it kind of came to a head last night as I tried to drift off to sleep. Isn't that always the way? For those of you who don't know me personally, I'm married to a Lutheran (ELCA) pastor. He serves a… Continue reading Attachment, abandonment, and being a pastor’s spouse in the time of Covid
We should be uncomfortable with this
I am feeling my blog title acutely, in the wake of ANOTHER mass school shooting. Alive: Well, in a country with a gun obsession that claims to be more about "my rights!" than worshiping guns, I made it another day in the USA without being gunned down in a supermarket, church, school, public park, or… Continue reading We should be uncomfortable with this
A Tearful Admission
I know it's hard. You may feel overwhelmed. Or attacked. Unfairly accused. Frustrated. Threatened. And tears may come to your eyes. They may spill over and leak down your cheeks. That is okay. Crying is okay, and is not a signal of weakness. (Not that there's a problem with weakness, either. Strength looks different from… Continue reading A Tearful Admission
It’s the most (fill in the blank) time of the year
There's no doubt that the close of the year can be wonderful and festive, but for so many people - and for so many reasons - it can also be stressful, lonely, conflicting, and a huge exercise in coping with expectations versus reality. I just made a list with 80+ names of people of whom… Continue reading It’s the most (fill in the blank) time of the year
Exercising empathy
It's inherently uncomfortable, in many situations. To stretch yourself to consider what must truly be going on in someone's mind... their reasoning... their choices... is not an exercise many of us want to engage in. When we judge, or write someone off as an idiot, we firmly shut a door. It keeps the world black… Continue reading Exercising empathy
Be afraid… be very afraid
My 5th grader is an absolute movie buff. He has borrowed library DVDs since he was a tot in the kiddie section, streamed since he knew how to use a remote, and campaigned feverishly for what we'd rent since it became our Friday night tradition. His holiday and birthday wishlists contain more movies than toys.… Continue reading Be afraid… be very afraid
Words.. talking.. hard…
One of the most uncomfortable things for me is a necessary, but hard, conversation. Emotions might run high, clarity might be difficult, there's no guarantee it will "fix" things, and at the close, we still might be misunderstood. I appreciate this wisdom and thought it was worth sharing!
alive. awake. uncomfortable. 