Inspiration Faith & Prayer Health & Wellness Entertainment Love & Family
Newsletters Special Offers

Beginner's Heart

  Last night’s dinner was brought to you by some obscure soup company. Canned clam chowder, w/ the addition of cracked pepper & white corn. YUM! Served w/ water crackers, & a side of tabbouleh I made a couple of days ago. What my grandmother used to call ‘fixed’ food, compared to ‘cooked’ food. When you cook, you…

As I wrap presents, write out menus, email to find out who’s bringing what to the holiday feast, I can’t help but think of my mother. She was NOT organised, nor was she an organiser. Tell her what to do, and she did fine. But I don’t remember her ever taking on…projects. We had holiday…

Love is, I think, like ribbon. It’s beautiful, for one thing (I adore pretty ribbon!). But it tangles, gets easily wrinkled and needs care to last. At the holidays, when I’m going through SKEINS of it, I find myself thinking of it as a metaphor for almost everything. But certainly love. And thus happiness. Who…

All the ornaments are on the tree. The newest riff on the family tabbouleh is chilling, waiting for us to taste-test it after the flavours meld. The three packages needing mailing — well, the ones that have arrived total three; more to come! — are mailed. Not to mention trash taken out, cat taken to…

It’s been four weeks since our new cat Hector came to live with us. During that scant month, he’s made himself more (or less…) at home upstairs. But he still won’t come downstairs. And he won’t engage at all if the dogs are (as they always are) standing ready to ‘play’ (read: pounce). I’m ready for…

This is a relatively undecorated tree, at least at my house. All it’s wearing is the equivalent of good foundation garments, in girl-speak: a zillion lights (2100, to be exact!), a spire, and crystal garland. And all last night I looked at it, bemused by its beauty. The holidays are like that, I think. We…

Today is chore day, Sunday or not. I spent yesterday happily doing holiday shopping and visiting w/ my sister & niece. So today? Bright & early, following a Skype call to Younger Son, my beloved & I were off to buy tree lights. And a couple of sweaters for the grandson. And some gold ribbon.…

I spent this afternoon doing holiday things w/ my sister and my niece, her daughter. We went to the annual ‘Carols & Crumpets’ at our local garden centre, where there were all kinds of plants, crafts, and edible goodies to buy. Following that, we went to the German American Society’s holiday market. And then? Tea.…

As my children move farther & farther away — not simply in miles, but into that mysterious realm of adulthood that never seem (at least to parents) stable — I wrestle with letting go. It’s the ultimate Buddhist exercise: how to love without attachment. It’s hard sometimes for non-Buddhists to understand non-attachment, or Upādāna. I’ve had people…

What would we do without lists?? I have a journal — AKA a book of lists — Evernote on my phone & iPad, Dropbox so other folks can send me MUTUAL lists, and I’m STILL writing them on paper scraps, and pasting them in! In other words, I live by the list. 🙂 While the…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners