cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
“Stand tall when you say goodbye, my girl. No matter how much the end hurts, we hold our heads up high and let the tears anoint your honor.” I lift her chin up, but her eyes refuse to meet mine. I hold my gaze steady until she reluctantly meets my own. “Momma, I just had…
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I held death in my arms once. In February 2008 the tiny body of my nephew, born 20 weeks early, was brought to me wrapped in a blanket in sister-in-law Deanna’s hospital room. In my womb a 20-week-old baby kicked. It felt like the hardest thing I would ever have to do, continue growing life…
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Their departure is imminent. After a stay of seven weeks, my daughter and our two granddaughters are about to depart. Jeff began driving their car to California the day before. Amanda and the girls will fly home so that Grace can begin second grade on the first day of school. The pending ferry ride to Seattle weighs…
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I love a big entrance. Boisterous hellos, tight hugs, chatter on top of chatter. I’m great with an enthusiastic greeting. But I’ve also been quick to look for the back door. I haven’t always given quite as much drama to the goodbye as I do with the hello. In fact, I’ve been known to slip…
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I am not ready to let go. The tears and memories still come to the surface, far too quickly, and for this I hold immense gratitude. I am still holding the glorious faces, stories, words, and brilliant questions of those who went through our institute. The beautiful work was done in partnership and communion alongside…
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We have had a terrible dry winter and spring in the southwestern desert. Day after day has dawned with clear skies and a relentless sun. The land has grown parched. The pine trees in our yard have turned brown, and the threat of fire looms across the mountains above our town. It has become a…
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It was almost April and one news station reported that our city had had a mere forty hours of sunlight since October! It had been the darkest five months of my life.
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