This unseasonably warm epilogue to November is an unexpected Thanksgiving treasure.  A comfortable breeze soothes my skin into a writer’s reflection despite the music and laughter drifting from my neighbor’s front porch.  Their careless banter about work seems out of place now that I’m lost in thoughts of last Saturday morning when Charming got the … Continue reading When God Only Knows

They met this weekend, after more than a year: the two men that occupy the majority of my free time.  The elder, my gym mentor, gets the weekdays.  The younger, my boyfriend, gets the weekends.  Hundreds of Hampton afternoons find Chuck on the elliptical to my right, peddling wisdom, perspective, and probing questions.  When Charming … Continue reading Wisdom, Weekdays, and Weekends

You won’t find Charming in these photographs.  He was six time zones behind me, waking up stateside while I posed on the Puente de San Martin with new friends.  The women are all preparing to lead our first tours; Pat is our EF consultant.  A week ago, he was just a voice on the telephone, but … Continue reading Seven Months and Counting

Today, I voted.  Tomorrow, regardless of the outcome of the 2016 Presidential Election, I’m getting out of the country.  While my favorite sub, Mr. G., facilitates my English and yearbook classes, I’ll be on a plane to Europe.  The next day, while my kids take on punctuating appositives, I’ll take on the Plaza Mayor in … Continue reading A Vote of Confidence

My hope wavers, I’ll admit.  Most days I’m optimistic, but worry, fear, or regret compete daily to tempt me toward a glass half empty.  Like last night, after returning home from taking my nieces trick or treating for the first time.  Carrying her between houses, I’d whispered in Kat’s ear, “There’s no place I’d rather … Continue reading Pictures and Perspective