This is my friend, Israel “DT” Del Toro Jr. DT is a real American hero, retired as Senior Master Sergeant and special ops paratrooper with the Air Force. He was blown up when his Humvee rolled over a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. He had third degree burns over 80% of his body, he was in […]
At the middle table at Starbucks, a mom and her daughter are playing a game and drinking hot chocolate. Mom is white, Little Girl is not white, and Little Girl has a beautiful afro. At the corner table at Starbucks, a young woman is working at her computer. Young woman is not white, and she […]
In his book, I Wrote This For You, Iaian Thomas wrote a breathtaking poem that I can't stop thinking about. In his words -- I hope that in the future they invent a small golden light that follows you everywhere and when something is about to end, it shines brightly so you know it's […]
Today, I've been thinking about the time when we were on a layover at the airport and a young man asked Peter to tie his tie for him. His mother would be waiting for him at baggage claim, and he knew she'd want to see him in a tie. He needed somebody's dad to help […]
I didn't write this, but I wish I did. And I don't know who needs to hear this, but I definitely did. "Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake. 'No […]
A Few Days Later, Mary Hurried. These words lit up on the page today. I love when I see something I've never seen, especially in the story of the birth of Jesus. That sentence holds a palpable tension. She waited a few days, but also, she hurried. Here's the context. In the sixth month of […]
Let's talk about who's really killing it during the month of December: The Teachers. They're planning units that are the perfect blend of both celebratory and politically correct. They're orchestrating learning centers involving candy canes and reindeer. They're utilizing extra amounts of glitter and glue, all of which travel home with them and stay on […]
Some of you have written to me, asking me to write in response to the sadness that overwhelms, asking me to speak into what we can do to help when we don't know what to do. To all of us who are helpless but want to help someone grieving in our world, to those of […]
Our family schedule now allows for exactly two dinners together each week. Two nights a week, I pull out all the stops and turn on the oven. Tonight, we had Dip Dinner. Spinach Artichoke dip, Guacamole, Salsa, Queso. Focaccia, naan, club crackers, and tortilla chips. My young men said, “Wow, Mom. This slaps hard.” (???) […]
My fellow artists, makers, thinkers, crafters, creatives, Have you ever wondered where your ideas come from? Whether they're yours or entirely and wholly other? Ever wondered how these ideas find you, whether you generated them or if they're floating around waiting to be claimed, or if someone sent them to you? I've wondered. Most artists […]
My pastor told the story this weekend of a now-famous experiment conducted by Gene Weingarten from the Washington Post. Weingarten interviewed Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, to see what he thought might happen if one of the world's greatest violinists performed incognito during the rush hour of foot traffic in the […]
You write to me. Your children have died, before they were born, before they could walk, before they turned 12, before their Prom, before their babies were born, before it was time, before you were ready, and who would ever be ready? Your marriages have died. He left. She left. He gave up. She gave […]
I am sitting in Denver's Union Station. I'm not taking a train anywhere, but the station is pure magic to me. The coming and going, the people, and their packages in hand and suitcases on wheels, the silver-grey, silver-bell tree that defines the words "blue spruce." It feels like some movie maker could lift a […]
My memory-keeper apps brought up this story from a year ago, when we got to know Baby Ben the digital robot, and I had my first go at grandparenting. Tuck was in tenth grade, and he was taking a child development class. He was learning and talking about words like breastfeeding, umbilical cord, placenta, and contractions. […]
'Tis the season for all the sparkly things. I live in a house divided, and the majority of us are itching to deck the halls. One of us drags her feet, not so eager to bring up the boxes from the basement. For some of us, sparkly things are prickly things. I used to love […]
The puppies were spayed and neutered yesterday. Molly's was laparoscopic, two small incisions, so she seems to be doing well. Getting around the house, even climbed the steps to greet me today, which she wasn't supposed to do. But dogs will do what they want to see their person. She is wearing a little tank […]
I was driving home on a cold November evening, when I pulled up to a stoplight at a busy intersection. I saw a familiar face: a homeless man whom I've claimed as a friend of mine. His name is David. He lives outside in our city, making the rounds in a 4-mile radius. He shows […]
I have a (deeply empathic) friend who feels sorry for Thanksgiving every year. She says it gets swallowed up in the aftermath of Halloween candy and the early arrival of Christmas on the shelves, and it’s tucked right next to Black Friday. Poor Thanksgiving, forced into a too-small seat of humility between the kids table […]
“Tricia, this weekend we will be spending time with a ten-year-old boy whose mom died recently. What cues do you have for me for interacting with a heartbroken boy? Our time together is probably meant to be a fun distraction, NOT a heart-to-heart conversation moment, but I am just curious what sort of support was […]
"I was brave?" the four-year-old asked. "You were -- you are brave," Eddie told her. "What does brave mean?" Ruth asked him. "It means that you don't cry," Eddie said. "I cried a little," Ruth pointed out. "A little is okay," Eddie told her. "Brave means that you accept what happens to you -- you […]
