A Legacy of Thanks

When my son Graham was in college he started his own quiet Thanksgiving tradition, writing a little thank-you note—or rather, a thank-you email—to a teacher or coach or mentor who had made a lasting impact on his life. I didn’t know about this tradition until many years later but the beauty and simplicity of itContinue reading “A Legacy of Thanks”

Don’t Go There Child

My mom was a concert-level pianist as a child but gave up practice for boys & fun in her teens. In her 50s she returned to the piano with a vengeance, taking endless music theory and composition classes determined to unleash her own creativity. She was convinced that if she just knew a little moreContinue reading “Don’t Go There Child”

Opting for Joy, part 2

And so we sat in our little circle on our metal folding chairs on the grass, me and my aunt and the salt-and-pepper Brits, and the Chinese couple from Malaysia, and Michael in his wheelchair and Rasmus his helper, and the handsome and slightly uncomfortable European man, whose infrequent comments revealed a vague confusion orContinue reading “Opting for Joy, part 2”