inspiration

This is a story about the balance between soul, brain, and muscle. And how when they each do what they are good at, it makes anything seem doable. This spirit, mind, body balance is a pretty big deal in the world (having inspired a little thing called…

Something terrible goes on at my house, pretty much every day. It starts around 8:00 p.m., and winds down around 9:15. There is crying, agony, yelling, threats, frustration, and a feeling of helplessness. It’s bedtime with a three-year-old and a…

Twenty-eight years ago, Stacy Burns made my life hell. I had just joined the gymnastics team at the local Y, and Stacy was a tomboy who liked to tease in a gruff, unfriendly way. At the time, I thought she was a bully—although now, of course, I see it…

I don’t know this woman. According to the caption, I do share a name with her, which offers some sort of kinship. But I don’t know her story. All I know is that she is in my grandfather’s album, and the picture was taken circa 1930. Paging…

A few weeks ago, my daughter, Georgia, started crying from the basement playroom. My husband went down there, and found her pointing up at the windowsill, where a copper folk-art style cat was sitting. It had been sitting there since the day she was born…