I grew up in Sunday School. A non-descript room with squeaky linoleum floors, wooden chairs arranged as neat and precise as we were expected to behave. I can still hear our thin childish voices filling the rafters with unabashed joy during worship, chubby hands clapping and waving wildly with the actions, shouting about our Jesus. … Continue reading
You step out of the shower. Take a deep breath as the steam slowly creeps up to the ceiling. Inwardly tell yourself to have grace. To speak words of love. Of affirmation. Anything positive will suffice really. You turn to the mirror. You want so badly to love me. But that brick wall of insecurity … Continue reading
Spring has an obvious way of making its presence known here on the West Coast. Cherry blossom trees erupt—literally erupt—all over the city. I find cherry blossom trees completely magical—almost otherworldly. The way they unexpectedly burst into a symphony of exquisiteness, seemingly one day to the next. They make plain, ramshackle houses look like … Continue reading
Sunday morning. We were up early that day. Not because we had anywhere to be. We hadn’t had anywhere to be for some time now. Asher was snuggled on the couch watching Curious George as I puttered around, a load of laundry here, a swipe of mascara there. I sipped an oversized mug of Earl … Continue reading
Standing at the coffee bar, I discreetly tear open two yellow packets of sweetener. I watch as the sparkling granules swirl into my English breakfast tea, dissolving easily. Only after my paper cup has been securely sealed do I take a seat at a tucked away table. You greet me a wide easy grin. We’ve … Continue reading
I hate taking out the garbage. It is by far the worst of all household tasks. It might be my superhuman olfactory senses. Or because the colossal effort it requires to take out the trash remains unappreciated to the naked eye, tucked under the sink. It may have a smidge to do with the fact … Continue reading
In grade school, I spent a lot of time on the bus. A big hulking yellow machine that wheezed up hills and backed into a telephone pole once. I can still remember the musty smell and the thin olive green plastic that wrapped around the metal benches. This was before the age of cell phones, … Continue reading
I thought I was done writing about death. Since my father-in-law passed away suddenly last March, I’ve poured the full gamut of feelings out onto these pages. But last Saturday my Oma passed away. It was a different kind of loss altogether. She was in her eighties, and had suffered at the cruel hand of … Continue reading
As I strolled up the pebbled walkway a heavy wooden door was thrust open with a vengeance, causing my quiet ponderings to scatter like dandelion seeds. A tiny blur—no higher than my waist—bolted out like a shot. It was my niece Brielle, exhibiting the kind of precocious energy only a four-year-old can muster. She barely … Continue reading
Two years ago, I decided to choose one word-in lieu of my usual 15 odd resolutions-for the year. One word to encompass 365 days. To guide me through twelve long months. I wasn’t sure if I could swing it. The perfectionist in me yearns for a categorized list, itemizing all the ways in which I … Continue reading
