We all like to think we have some control over our lives. Maybe that's why "cancer battle" language is so widespread in popular culture....
Beauty in the Ordinary
Like a bear in winter, I’ve been in a version of hibernation these days. It’s as if Ingrid Michaelson is seeing directly into my soul with her song “Keep Breathing,” which includes the lyrics: “I want to change the world. Instead, I sleep.” Mastering sloth mode (as a friend...
In a Warming World
Last week, on the same day that several kids at my older daughter’s Wisconsin soccer camp were ill from heat exhaustion, I had a phone call with my stepmother in California, where the Dixie fire had been spreading. Though it wasn’t yet close to where she and my father...
Shock Absorbers
The toothache began one day in March, a dull but pesky pain concentrated in my lower right molars. I paused, mid-chew, surprised by the sensation. Unlike other parts of my body, my teeth have always been a reliable entity. When I was younger, my mom told me I was...
March to March
Yesterday, the Ides of March, was a dreary, cold day, the type that reminds any Midwesterner why it’s foolish to stow away the snow shovel prematurely. As I took our dog for a walk, Lake Michigan roared in the distance and the sun hid behind a cloak of clouds....