cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
Passion and Joy. Both are tricky words for me. I’m perhaps beginning to turn the corner on joy. I grew up in a family that claimed to be joyful but hid secrets of sexual trauma, addiction, and abuse. We were a happy, faith-filled family—or so I was told. There were good times, but they were…
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I currently live in, arguably, the biggest achiever-mindset environment in the nation: Georgetown University in Washington D.C. As an Enneagram 3, you’d think this climate would be comforting. Finally, people who understand my obsession with the Oxford Comma! You’d think I’d feel encouraged by the energy in the air, the need to succeed, and the…
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When I was seven, I wanted a swing. The simple thought of soaring weightlessly gave me a feeling of rest in my little soul. Never for a moment did I doubt my daddy could make it happen, so I asked him, knowing he would join my joyful anticipation. Just as expected, he took on my…
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If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is it’s way of fighting back,…
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“Above all, trust in the slow work of God.” — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 5:34 p.m. on Black Friday and everything was right on schedule. The tree was set up, lights lit, and boxes of ornaments ready for unpacking. Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas played in the background, as was tradition, and Mom had just slid the…
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“Can I watch Joy’s movie, Mama?” “Joy’s movie?” “Yeah! The yellow lady with the blue hair!” Frantically searching my memory bank for the missing puzzle pieces, I stare confusedly into space until a bright light blinks into existence above my head. “Aha! Joy! You mean Inside Out.” My sweet boy, with swollen eyes and a…
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We do not play Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving, when we begin decorating our house. Any talk of decorating early for Christmas has been met with strong opposition and simply hasn’t been done. The theme music from Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the original cartoon) and A Charlie Brown Christmas are a must while decorating the tree,…
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What if I were to set her free? What if I were to allow her to become all that she could be? While yet in the grown-up, adult body, what if I allowed the inner child to be brave, be bold, be heard and be free?
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Sadness swims inside of me. Doing the backstroke across my heart. Flipping and repeating, gracefully kicking backwards as it observes where it has been.
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I just woke up early in my daughter’s home. There are no sounds of our freshly born granddaughter, Parker, or her mother or father. I hope they are all sleeping. Dan is deep in the twitching dreams of REM. It is the quiet time of memory. Parker is safe, sound, and already greatly loved. Today…
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