I’m stopped at a red light on South Chicago Avenue in the rain on a Thursday morning. Bored, I look to the left of me and see a large empty lot – about a quarter of a city block – surrounded by a raggedy old 8-foot chain-link fence. The sagging gates are locked together with… Continue reading renovations
to the boy on the other side of the curtain in the emergency room
I heard you come in. I heard them talking about you like you weren’t there. I heard them trying to convince you to get a gown on and I heard your silent refusal. I heard them threatening to cut your clothes off to get your hospital gown on. And then I heard your name. I… Continue reading to the boy on the other side of the curtain in the emergency room
the wrong seems oft so strong
This is My Father’s World has never been one of my favorite hymns. It always seemed a little trite – the first two verses are about the beautiful nature God made: birds, flowers, the planets spinning, the wind blowing. A song for children maybe. Something sweet to sing when you’re in a good mood. Recently… Continue reading the wrong seems oft so strong
apple pie
We made an apple pie last night. We had an abundance of apples and it had been a cold, dreary day, and apple pie just seemed right. I got out the cookbook and lined up the ingredients and measuring cups on the counter so we could begin mixing the crust. I have to pause right… Continue reading apple pie
Sugar
Have I told you the story of the homeless woman who may have been an angel? Three years ago, I was in the first year of my counseling program in Chicago. My classmates and I had finished our second semester and decided to celebrate with a Mexican dinner the following week. We passed around a… Continue reading Sugar
isolation
Can you identify with these statements? Being safe means being separated from those I love. I don’t know whether or not there is something wrong with me, or with those around me, so I have to distance myself and not even trust the air I breathe. The people in authority don’t seem to know how… Continue reading isolation
transparency
The problem with being transparentis that glass shatters. Nothing hidden. No secrets. No lies.You can see right through me. But my words cut deep and do harmwhen I am broken. When I am exhausted, when I am hungry,when the fearful powerlessness that haunted my childhood looms large, when I have been pushed just a little… Continue reading transparency
paradoxes
I am making my mother’s quiche this morning from our childhood in France, from notes scribbled on the back of an envelope two decades ago when I called her from my apartment in Chicago to learn how to make it. I’m using my Grandma’s reliable oil pie crust recipe, tested over dozens of camp and… Continue reading paradoxes
dandelions
I love dandelions. The ones who push themselves up through impossible cracks in the sidewalk. The ones who pop up in manicured lawns, uninvited on a complacent Sunday morning, disrupting the illusion. The ones running free on a hillside, ignorant of mowers and blades. The ones who get picked, sprayed, and poisoned and still come… Continue reading dandelions
thankful for the child
This year I got to attend a preschool Thanksgiving feast. The tables were decorated with hand-print turkeys and “I’m thankful for…” placemats. The students and their guests and teachers all sat at tables with grown-up chairs and plastic silverware. The little friend I sat beside is one of my favorite students. He’s three, and so… Continue reading thankful for the child
saving the dandelions 