Near the end of January, I checked the weather. It was freezing. With the ripping northeast wind, the temperature was 13 degrees. There was a small craft advisory. That wind direction meant there’d be impressive chop in the small cove. Perfect day of a swim. And not. We decided to meet at the cove and … Continue reading United We Swim
Last month, after the inauguration of our new president and vice president, I wrote President and Dr. Biden a letter. I posted it in an envelope I addressed by hand and hand-selected the stamp. I once worked as a summer congressional intern, answering constituents’ mail, so I know mailing a letter to the president and … Continue reading Dear President and Dr. Biden
(Note: the quotes in this piece are from a transcription of an interview with Sgt. Rob Taylor in Khenjekak, Afghanistan, C. Co. on February 2012. Sgt. Rob Taylor. Born Neville, NJ. August 1, 1981.) This time last year I was heading for a two-day interview at Syracuse University. On the drive through western Massachusetts, I got … Continue reading Remembering Rob Taylor
The idea for Women’s Education Initiative began by accident, literally. After completing my scuba instructor training in the Philippines, I wrecked an all-terrain vehicle in the jungle: I was lucky to walk away with only a shattered wrist. I arrived alone at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Batangas City on Easter weekend 2003. “Where’s your companion?” The … Continue reading Celebrating Women’s Education Initiative
The toughest thing is that there comes a day when the loved one no longer responds. We never know when that day will be. We know it’s coming. The last time we can talk with the loved one. The last time we will hold a hand and the beloved squeezes it. We know it’s coming, … Continue reading the toughest thing
In transit. In the past couple weeks, that’s a phrase that’s popped up often. My mail. The planets. My sister. I left Rhode Island in a hurry. My sister would be coming home from the hospital; the doctors said there was nothing more they could do. I joined my family to prepare her home for … Continue reading In Transit
I found this little card this morning. A drawing of a tiny boat being tossed on high curly waves, teetering atop the tallest crest, heading into a horizon with a low, dark cloud looming, tucked in the upper left corner of the frame. It has two simple words etched at the base of that middle, … Continue reading have faith
I have never been a fan of Thanksgiving. I know, it’s heresy, right? So many reasons. As a Mayflower descendent, I grew troubled over the years with the fairy tale that we’ve told our children about Pilgrims breaking bread with the indigenous people who saved the colonists’ bacon their first harsh winter in what’s now … Continue reading Breaking bread in this broken year
In the days and weeks since my father’s death, I go to the water to smell the salt air and taste the salt water when my own tears won’t fall. I go to the water for solace and guidance as cancer ravages my sister’s body in the heavy wake of my father’s death. I go … Continue reading I go to the water
“Was it COVID?” This question was hurled in a hushed voice at my mother, a wicked curve ball mere days after my dad’s death. This was before I realized that I’d need to block for my mother. Block insensitive and senseless questions. Too shell-shocked and polite, my mother answered on autopilot. “No.” And that should … Continue reading What not to say to a bereaved spouse
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