Life In General: What’s Next??

That phrase has many connotations, doesn’t it? Over the past few months, it’s cropped up with alarming regularity, usually after a visit to a doctor’s office where one or the other of us has been diagnosed with some new ailment. “What’s next??” I exclaimed in exasperation last week when my bone density scan revealed that my long-stable osteopenia had developed into severe osteoporosis; and then my dentist found a tooth that needed a crown and possibly a root canal. 

But rather than considering myself a close ancestor to Job, thinking that whatever’s next is likely to be catastrophic rather than celebratory, I’ve decided to take control of that little phrase and turn it on its ear. So What’s Next becomes a rallying cry for branching out, ramping up, taking a chance. For looking forward and moving beyond. For deep cleansing breaths and kicking off the traces. 

The Sunday Salon: The Case for the Closet Creative

My son was the most creative child I ever knew. Because he grew up as an only child in a neighborhood without other children nearby, he developed an entire world of creative projects to keep himself occupied. From the age of three until adulthood, he lived and breathed for this imaginary universe of characters which he wrote about, drew in cartoon adventures, and made video and audio recordings. He had his own little franchise and it occupied nearly all of his waking thoughts. He was so focused on these creative projects, and they were so important to him, that school always seemed like a huge waste of time, something he did only because he had to, a task to hurry and get out of the way so he could return to his “real work”.  Nothing made him happier than the hours and hours he spent creating. 

Whenever I’m tempted to throw my own creative endeavors under the bus in favor of “being productive” with my time, I try to recall my son’s creative fervor in his childhood days.

The Sunday Salon: Drawn In

It finally happened.

Winter arrived today. 

Icy rivulets ran down the windowpanes in harmony with hot coffee streaming into the pot. Howling winds battered the house as a Mozart Piano Concerto danced gently on the stereo. 
Leaden gray skies hung heavily over us as warm firelight flickered in the living room.

We are making the most of this wintry Sunday morning.

Naturally books are part of our response to winter.

Life In General: Sharing the Story

Happy Friday, and a happy official ending to the first full week of 2016. It’s been a busier one than I would have liked, especially after spending the two weeks of Christmastide doing virtually nothing and sleeping until 9 or 10 each morning. But we hit the ground running on Monday, and haven’t stopped since. 

Amidst rehearsals and meetings and doctor appointments this week, there was a lovely oasis of time on Tuesday evening...

Life In General: A Shiny New One

Here it is, a shiny new year. 

I’m really love New Year’s Day, and certainly not because of football. I love a clean slate, and what better one than a brand, spanking New Year, complete with new calendars, new notebooks, and fresh new opportunities. No matter what’s happened in the waning days of the old year, January First is a harbinger of possibility and change.