Reluctant Spirit – killer puppy tails

Day 294, the last day of 2020

OhGodsIt’sAnEndOfYrPost So here we are. It’s that time. First off, I am so, so sorry for those of you who have been particularly smacked down by this year. I know so, SO many people who are in crisis, who have been in crisis, who can’t get OUT of crisis. All I can say is KEEPContinue reading “Day 294, the last day of 2020”

Day 92, with Many Yrs and Omens

I haven’t been talking much about my year omens here since arriving in Philadelphia, even though I’ve been doing them since leaving Houston. Part of it is because before, I would forget to blog. Another part of it is that it got repetitive. Butterfly, dragonfly, butterfly, dragonfly. Another part of it is that it feltContinue reading “Day 92, with Many Yrs and Omens”

Janus Gift #4 – Finish Reading Things

This seems like the obvious of obvious. Particularly for a writer and avid reader. But I have about 12 books that I literally don’t want to finish – some I’m only halfway through. It’s not because I don’t like them, either – quite the opposite! I don’t want to finish them because then the storyContinue reading “Janus Gift #4 – Finish Reading Things”

Janus Gift #3 – Language as Meditation

I used to be very good at soaking in new languages, though I definitely needed a teacher to help me learn*. Learning new words and how to string them together was almost an ecstatic thing for me. Even the basic concept of “new words” gave me joy, whether the new words were in my birthContinue reading “Janus Gift #3 – Language as Meditation”

Janus Gift #2 – Reclaim Journaling

One of the disadvantages of the digital world is that the content normally consigned to diaries and journals is now something that can be put out into the world for consumption by anyone. As someone who wrote diaries and journals avidly before my age hit double digits, I started putting my thoughts out in publicContinue reading “Janus Gift #2 – Reclaim Journaling”

Janus Gift #1 – The Practice of Practice

One of the things about being labeled – or branded – a gifted child (GC) in the United States is that you don’t get the opportunity to fail that much. Things come naturally to you, or you learn so fast, that being BAD at something feels like a moral failing rather than a straightforward processContinue reading “Janus Gift #1 – The Practice of Practice”

2019 Gifts to Myself, a.k.a. Janus Gifts

Some people make resolutions. Some people set goals or intentions. Some people want fresh starts. It’s all kind of the same principle – folks generally want change for the better, and a new year is the kind of threshold that lends itself to making large gestures towards that end. I have a particular affinity forContinue reading “2019 Gifts to Myself, a.k.a. Janus Gifts”

The Length and Depth of Grief

One of the (many) things that annoys me about how we teach children about life is how rarely we talk to them about the different ways in which grief, as in you’ve lost someone grief, represents in different people. We don’t talk about how to deal with it and how to help others with it.Continue reading “The Length and Depth of Grief”