It amazes me that we humans ever understand each other given our robust ability to mess with syntax, translations, and meaning. Some years back, the kids and I visited my dad in Kansas. My youngest, only about five at the time, was very impressed by something my dad shared with […]
A Bit of Hell on the Way to Heaven
I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that workrooms must be messy, hamsters have to escape from cages, and household pipes and wires simply can’t work in harmony for any great stretch of time. Springtime means a general house cleaning. It also means the garden gets planted, chicks get hatched, and […]
Kingdoms of Our World
Of late, I’ve waged a war on carpenter bees, which seem heck-bent on burrowing holes throughout my porch to the point where I have to sweep sawdust off each morning. My attempts at repairing and staining only appear to alter their trajectory, not their aim. Little do they care how […]
Innovation—The Art of Modern Homeschooling
I’ve been writing for ten years and homeschooling for twenty years, and with each new year, I discover fresh challenges. But that’s the adventure. To meet challenges head-on. Innovation is at the heart of homeschooling—and writing—so a lot of what I have to say about homeschooling applies to my writing […]
OldEarth Encounter Themes
Recently, I celebrated another year marked on the calendar of my life. I am also considering how best to focus my energy and enlighten my soul, so I look back on my previous accomplishments and peer ahead into exciting new projects. In our vastly changing world, we still follow an […]
Soul’s Amen
A spider web in the branching trees, Sends winking glints in a gentle breeze. What an intrepid climber you be, Forever free! My little friend may claim great might. Above the landscape, amazing height. Birds flutter in anxious haste, You watch in expectation, not a breath of waste. My admiration […]
Perspective
There is a vulture circling overhead, I wonder—why can’t it be a sparrow instead? The drier signals come-get-me-now with demanding beeps, I tell the dog, “Go get the clothes.” She blissfully sleeps. Sink clogged; floor sogged, Land bogged; mind grogged. Willow-whisps of complaint flitter through my head, Think of kindness, […]
See a Tree
Trees, in their giantess of spirit, talk to me on a daily basis. Thank God, or I don’t know who I’d go to for advice. It’s the end of a long day—a Monday to be exact—and as hectic, overflowing Mondays have the uncanny habit of following slow, afternoon-nap Sundays, I […]
Where Life United
Your eyes record a different world than mine, Without my music, books, or time. Declining years loom ahead, Your face lights with futuristic hope instead. Joking, you say, go back to days long past, But no return would I gladly clasp. Childhood bittersweet, Adolescence confusion reaped. Love and marriage replaced […]
There Stands Lent
I’m not overly fond of Lent. The whole discipline aspect sets my teeth on edge. Isn’t life hard enough? What good is it to offer up a bit of sugar in my morning coffee? Or stifling honest irritation over vexing situations? Strangely enough though, by the end of the second […]