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Fail!

I’ve been thinking a lot about failure the last few weeks. No, I didn’t miss a penalty shot at a big match, wasn’t fired, or dumped. And actually, I dispute these should even be thought of AS failures.

I would like to amend the instructions:

Jumping in the Swimming Hole (Summer Recap –> Back to the Ordinary)

My new-found summer hobby as a 40-something is an immense achievement. Not polar plunge, exactly, though reading Katherine May’s chapter on it in Wintering made me want—or at least imagine wanting—to try. But cold water swimming, again and again. I have come to know, through lived experience, that the pain of being cold fades, and the vitality, sometimes verging on ecstasy, I receive in exchange for being willing to be cold is better than not being cold.

Minnesota Woman Finally Finishes Last Journal

St. Cloud resident Barb Peterson announced yesterday that after sixty-two years of faithful journaling, she has finally used her last journal.

They Won’t KNOW!

“I just have to get my smoothie cup, I can bring it with me.” I nod to the opaque pink Owala tumbler on the counter. This last sentence ripples with electricity through my smallest daughter, sending her into a concerned high alert. “Smoothie!!??” she asks, incredulous. “But what if they won’t know what’s in your cup?”

A Writer’s Life

What luck! A child awakes in the night to vomit and you get to hold back her hair and wipe her mouth and enfold her in your arms and whisper to her that you are there for her. She nestles in close, comforted by your very presence. This is truly the essence of life, and you are living it right now. It will also make a great story when you sit down to write about it.

The Prize Elephant

On any given day, our kids’ room is littered with dirty clothes. Their trail of discarded attire reveals distracted wandering over the course of the seemingly simple act of getting dressed: pants inside out on the carpet, underwear tossed in a corner, dress nestled in next to a pillow on the bed....

In the Top 500

July 2022 This is a sweet season with my five year old son, or as he explains it when introducing himself to church friends coming over for a potluck tonight, “I’ll just say I’m six, because I’m almost six.” He learned to read this year, practically overnight. We were on vacation for the school’s mid-winter...

We’ll Always Have Philadelphia

For the last year, our oldest child has been begging for a toy kitchen. Our former neighbors had the ubiquitous IKEA kitchen. Before they moved, our son would plead to go play at their house, even though their kids are younger, so he could access his favorite toy. Now that vaccines have made playdates possible...

Snow Angel

I have a gift for you.Here it is, at your disposal:A clear blue sky,Glistening sun, A snowy field,silence.You are invited, if you choose,To lay down. No one is forcing you.You may remain on your feet,Walk those sensible boots back to a warm, dry place.No one will know.Or you may, if you choose,Nestle yourself Into this...