Last week I had one of those bugs that didn’t fall neatly into a category. I wasn’t coughing or sneezing or throwing up. I didn’t have a fever. But I had body aches and a tension headache that made it hard to imagine that life would ever again be a source of comfort and joy.Continue reading “Everyday aches & pains”
Category Archives: Love thy neighbor
Real and present danger
A few summers ago, when my son Graham was interning at a local newspaper, he began subscribing to the police scanner newsfeeds to track developing stories. I thought it was kind of creepy. From time to time he’d send me updates about shootings near our house; nothing stops the rhythm of the day like theContinue reading “Real and present danger”
Listen
We hear this word a lot. We don’t heed its call much, but we sure hear it— probably because we do it so poorly. I think we’re bad at listening because we live in a culture where a standard news or talk show format features four people talking over each other from a list ofContinue reading “Listen”
Ban the backyard
There is a common myth in America that what a happy family needs most is a Big Backyard. (This is similar to the myth that happiness increases in direct proportion to square footage, but that’s a post for another time). Those who do not live in homes at all, or live in homes with littleContinue reading “Ban the backyard”
A miracle baby
Last June, Lon and I had been with our new friend Alicia and a few other neighbors on a river rafting trip. It was the most exhilarating and playful time I’d had in years. Piling giddily into the van to head for home, Alicia checked her messages. There was one from a doctor, supposedly theContinue reading “A miracle baby”
Heather Choate Davis 