Turned 50 on Monday. Woke up to this beside my bed, my gift from Bob: Every day, we sit with the stream. As the spark of Venus fades into the wakening embers of dawn over the field, we turn to the path that takes us into the woods, threading through the trees, crossing rows of […]
Thanks Matters
Like so many traditional holidays, Thanksgiving has a dark origin story — Colonialism. Slavery. Epidemics. These are all important issues to consider as we work to build a socially just, kind world. Gratitude is equally important. I reflect on both sides of the holiday this week. But I cannot let the dark history over-shadow […]
Labor(ing) Day
Don’t know many folks who farm or live close to the bone who don’t find the notion of Labor Day profoundly ironic. Pigs still gotta eat. Chickens still gotta eat. Sheep still need to move to fresh pasture. And, of course, there are all the farm-direct sales. There are a lot of parties and guests […]
Better Than
Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. Joanne Harris’ Broken Light. Both books are on my mind non-stop. They are masterful: Fabulous character arcs, great story lines, gorgeous writing. Both examine major social issues of our time…And both do it while pulling me into stories so enthralling, I lose hours of sleep each night, reading to the […]
Swiping Right
“If we both joined Tinder, do you think we’d match with each other?” “No.” “Hey! You answered too fast. And what do you mean by that?” I swat Bob on the butt. We’re watching a Tinder drama play out in real-time while cooking dinner. Saoirse is dressed and ready to leave on a date. I’m […]
On Retreat
As some of you are aware, I’ve been working on a novel for like…..oh….. a decade now. I’ve done a couple drafts of it. The current version, however, is over 600 pages, and my agent won’t look at it until I manage to delete 200 pages and find a way to make the story hold […]
What’s in a Birthday?
What hurts you blesses you. Darkness is your candle. — Rumi I’m slamming things around the kitchen. The girls are sitting at the counter in front of me, wide-eyed. I’m on the verge of tears, telling them that I feel like they don’t do their share of cooking and cleaning, that they aren’t children any […]
Home-Schooled College
I took Saoirse to see the Dartmouth Campus. She was more interested in watching the squirrels racing and playing in the quad. I took her to my alma maters, SUNY Binghamton and Cornell. There, she was more interested in finding good coffee and the best Korean food. I suggested a paddling trip up near Paul […]
The Voice in My Head
“Is that what you’re wearing?” I sound like every mother ever. We’re rushing to leave for the train station. It’s our last visit down to the city to hang out with Saoirse and Anthony and Vivian for a few days. Then we get to bring Saoirse home for the remainder of the winter. I’ve got […]
Not Just Another Cappuccino
She’s gone again. Our good friends and neighbors, Anthony & Vivian, who own Plowshares Coffee in Harlem and Bloomingdale (and who roast the coffee we serve at Sap Bush Cafe), ran into another labor shortage this January. Saoirse was only too glad to help them out. She threw her sleeping bag and a change of […]
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