stories from my life
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced and overcome was a self-imposed one. In 1999, I rode a bicycle 330 miles through Appalachia in 3.5 days. I raised $1900 for people suffering from AIDS in the Washington D.C. metro area, then joined 1700 other riders to pedal my bike from North Carolina, through Virginia, and … Continue reading I can do hard things
My laptop is a metal ice cube on the tops of my thighs. I’m sitting on a hard metal bleacher at the aquatic center, trying to shiver the cold out of my bones from running out to my car after my swim to retrieve my computer bag. It’s dark and 15℉ (-9℃). The coldest part … Continue reading Degrees of cold
You have to be careful of oyster shoals when you navigate a salt marsh at mid-tide. At low tide, the oyster beds are exposed above water, so there’s not much worry of running your hull over them and scratching it all to pieces. At high tide, the water is deep enough over where you’d be … Continue reading Oysters steam
I remember cutting roses for Grandma from the giant bush by her side door. I remember the pastel pillow mints in the crystal candy dish on the sideboard. I remember “Chicken in a Biskit” crackers in the kitchen, and Planters peanuts on the coffee table at cocktail time. I remember her record player, the size of a … Continue reading I remember St. Simons Island
When we lived in Naples, Florida, I was astonished by the wealth. Naples is a small town on the west coast of southern Florida, and we moved there for my husband’s job at the Rookery Bay estuarine reserve. We bought a modest house — our first home! — across the street from a gated community … Continue reading Shuttered windows
Photo credit Canned Muffins When we lived in Maryland and I was a cyclist, a friend I bicycled with was a Quaker. We’d ride 40 or 50 miles together through the hills of rural Maryland, and she’d tell me about Quaker Meeting. “There’s no central figure — no pastor, no sermon. Everyone is equal. We … Continue reading Quaker Meeting
Butterfly Mind 