My Blog
My sister Martha and I stood on the lip of what was surely heaven, mesmerized by the panoramic view. We were high on the sandstone cliffs of the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, looking out at mammoth rock formations, an endless blue sky and a vast pink mesa dotted with Pinon trees. The relentless wind filled the afternoon with dust. We were cold and our hair was in our faces. But we didn’t care. Martha and I, along with our brother and his very soon-to-be…
The other night, I went out to see a good friend play at a local nightspot. This cat is one of my favorite performers on the scene and musically speaking, it was a great night. The band was smoking. The songs and arrangements were very cool. And of course, my friend was on his A-game, per usual, and completely brought it. It could and should have been a perfect evening….. ….except for the stunningly obnoxious group of women sitting at the table next to me.…
My Old School OK, I’m having a mom conundrum. This particular issue spins around and around in my brain like a crazy dog endlessly chasing its tail. Sometimes it keeps me up nights. It’s certainly caused some considerable drama in our household over the past few years. In the big picture scheme of it all, I’m not even sure if all my fuss and worry is warranted. The issue I’m talking about is education. We have a struggle on our…
Yesterday, the teen animal and I went down to the tattoo parlor and got inked up. Two bodies. One design. It was a bone cold afternoon and I was on the verge of despondency over the Seahawk’s loss to the Falcons. An outing with Emmett was the perfect thing–perhaps even the only thing–that could pull me out of my downward, post-game spiral. The idea to get tattoos together was Emmett’s. He threw it at me one night while we were having dinner in Chinatown.…
At the start of each yoga class, my teacher encourages us to set an intention for the practice we’re about to do. I’ve found this to be a helpful and clarifying exercise. Now, as we wind down the old and venture forth into the new, I’ve been thinking about what my intention is for the year ahead. As I was kicking around the idea for this post, a friend asked me what the difference is between an intention and a resolution. In my mind, an…
Happy Birthday! If I’m doing the math correctly in my head, you would have been 87 years old today. I can only imagine what kind of mischief you would be getting into. I hope that wherever you are in the vast cosmic plane, you’re reading a Scientific American, yelling at the television set and enjoying an English muffin, toasted to perfection with hot bubbling cheddar cheese on top. I also hope you have a motorcycle to ride and a sailboat. I miss you terribly and…
Life of late has felt like a vigorously shaken snow globe. Between writing deadlines, parenting demands, tunes to rehearse, vocal cords that need to be kept in shape, gigs to prepare for and the basics of sleeping, eating and exercise, my days are a chaotic whirl of frenetic bits. I’m hitting it hard but balls are still dropping. Right here and right now, I have more on my plate than is humanly possible for me to manage. The overload sirens in my psyche are blaring.…
It’s been nearly a week since the election and I’m tired, elated and vastly relieved. My guy won. Big exhale. While I know that not everyone shares my thrill at President Obama’s reelection, I’m willing to bet that the majority of my fellow Americans–on both sides of the fence– are glad that the whole shebang is over. At least that’s one thing we collectively hold in common. Perhaps that’s a start. Many of the post-election speeches have made reference to the blistering separation in…
The infamous voiceover that started each episode of Star Trek called space the final frontier. Of course, that particular reference was about outer space, with planets, moons, galaxies and all of that cosmic stuff. Certainly, there are many ways to think about space and the concept has been the center of many lively metaphysical discussions throughout the history of mankind. When I think about it relative to our creative lives, space is the ultimate frontier. This could be a slightly goofy ride, but hang…
Today is my youngest son’s 15th birthday. Enzo was originally due on Halloween. However, potentially serious complications came up and the wise decision was made to deliver him early via C-section. Fifteen years ago today, I was getting ready for my trip to the hospital. Bags were packed. My older son Emmett was set to spend the night with friends. My husband Charlie was off from work. My best friend Lisa was driving up from Portland. At that time, I didn’t know the gender…
