For myself, and for you. — To the jasmine first, then to the lilies. Whisper to the tomatoes: Did you know already? Did you know before me? The bougainvillea are hardy listeners. The jacaranda won’t judge. They’ll say: What a beautiful way to be — some days purple, some days green. The fig and avocados will…

And I may never get over it — because I care — My mom, who had been an amazing elementary and junior high teacher for decades, had always joked to me (repeating what she’d been taught): “Teachers are just frustrated actors with a captive audience.” When I first decided to become a teacher, I asked my mom how in the world I…

I am bruised and aching, but I am trying to ground myself before I wake up my teen child to the news — From the New York Times, Friday, June 24, 2022: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade The decision, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion after almost 50 years, will lead to all but total bans on the procedure in about half of the states. From Forbes, Friday June 24, 2022: Clarence Thomas: Court Should Reconsider Gay Marriage, Birth Control Decisions Next After Overturning Roe

An invitation to pause, breathe, and meditate — “Is there anything more loyal than the sun?” — Mary Oliver Wild days, wild seasons. It’s been in the 90s here in L.A. My BFF in Chicago has been sending me updates of her car’s thermometer: 105 degrees. …

The gift that keeps on giving — We’ve lived in our house for almost twenty-two years, and for about sixteen of those, we had a spot in our front yard where absolutely everything that we planted died. Then one year, I bought a small rose geranium plant at the Descanso Gardens store, and I planted it. And…

Bringing Back the Wild to a Domesticated World — hierophant | origin and meaning by Etymonline “expounder of sacred mysteries,” 1670s, from Late Latin hierophantes from Greek hierophantes “one who teaches the rites of sacrifice and worship,” literally “one who shows sacred things” from hieros “sacred;” from [Proto-Indo-European] language (PIE) root *eis-, forming words denoting passion (see ire) +…

Interview with Danielle Davis, Picture Book Writer and Maker Extraordinaire — I was just so excited to get my hands on a copy of TO MAKE by Danielle Davis and Mags DeRoma, which is a picture book with the intended audience of little kids — but this book is really for any reader of any age, anyone who loves to make…

On hoes and trowels, spurge and memory, nourishment and resolve — Get dressed in your very best farmer gear: lightweight cotton clothing, solid shoes, sunhat, and thick leather gloves. Procure a hoe. Imagine yourself as Old MacDonald — sturdy and strong and prepared to take on the wicked world of weeds. Look over your garden, the tomatoes, the zucchini, the green…

Do you have mindfulness practices that inspire your creative process? I want to interview you! — Much has been written about the myth of the tortured artist. As much as I value opportunities to explore the darkness of life in my writing as a way to understand and heal from trauma, I’ve never been interested in suffering for my art. With two parents dead before I…