Coffee & Conversation

My dad told me this story about my grandparents and their interactions with farmworkers in the 1960’s. My grandpa would hire workers during the summer months to help with baling hay or weeding out fields. Some of these workers were African Americans. It was a standard practice of farms during that time to have the […]

When I was little, my family and I had to drive through one small village in Germany in order to reach the other small village where we lived. Along the winding road through the first village was a row of rough-hewn doors carved into the side of a rounded hill. When we would pass these […]

What is the “thing behind the thing” The “what” that isn’t there— Or is it the “who”? We constantly wait for the something coming, Delaying our happiness, forgetting the now Our eyes dim, weakened from straining for unknowns Our desire subsides as we pant Because we refuse to notice the breaths We miss the point […]

The letter was three pages long. For weeks, I had waited for it, longingly checking the mailbox, anticipating its arrival as though it were announcing the Queen of England was coming to visit. The year was 2001. I had graduated from High School and was enrolled in a college-level Creative Writing Course via correspondence with […]

In this time of social distancing, let us remember we are not solitary eagles. We are designed for community. We are wired for connection.Yes, we should take precautions and live with wisdom. Yes, we should wash our hands  extra times. Yes, we must take care around each other.But we must remember: we are not alone. […]

It’s still dark outside. No morning hues have yet streaked the sky. I hold a cup of strong, black coffee. I sit in the recliner next to the fireplace. I open up my latest book, “Wondrous Encounters” by Richard Rohr. I read. I think. I pray. I listen.The puppy curls on my lap.This is my […]

Two strands of white Christmas lights are still hung inside my house. A strand above the fireplace. A strand above the dining room window. Last week, I took down our Christmas tree while Thomas boxed away the inflatable Santa Clauz who rides an armadillo. Seven boxes of Christmas paraphernalia were stashed away above our garage […]

Disco lights flashed on the ice rink. Skaters of all ages and sizes floated, zoomed, or shuffled past my son and me. The two of us held hands as we attempted to glide gracefully along the ice. Our glow bracelets, compliments of the Ice Centre, encircled our wrists, making us feel both cheery and brave. […]

“You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family.” Harper Lee’s words from her iconic novel, To Kill A Mocking Bird, have resounded through history. This sentiment shows up in poems and movies and even everyday life as we consider the people who are closest to us and how we have been […]

My mom loved casseroles. They were cheap, versatile, and fed all of five members of my family. She could throw random ingredients together and we would feast – poor-man, gourmet style. These concoctions were really not my mom’s creations, nor was it her fault that she fell prey to the gooey, fatty, salty, decadence of […]