Tag Archives: faith

Spirit/Essay. For Whom the Bell Tolls.

U.S. Senator John McCain will be buried today, one of many people throughout the world: some famous, many little known, too many unknown except to families or to God. Some people will have no one to bury them. When I … Continue reading

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Spirit/Essay. Of mirrors and marathons. Reflections five years after Hell came home.

It is April in New England, and the marathon has come again. Since 2013, race day is not a simple joy anymore. It is the anniversary of a bombing. It is the day we learned how strong we really were, … Continue reading

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Spirit/ Essay. I heard the bells on Christmas Day… Hear them again.

I grew up in Pennsylvania where Christians included kids who went to churches like mine, kids who attended Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic mass, and kids who had the daily prayers and Sunday services of the Amish and Mennonites. One … Continue reading

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Spirit/ Essay. A Question about Hats, a Matter of Heart.

When I was little, I loved watching people in their Sunday best, especially the elegant lady who made me think of Queen Elizabeth. I realized, though, that coats and hats and outer finery generally came off in the cloak room. … Continue reading

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Essay. The Destination and the Journey.

If we return at death from where we came, what is life? Everything in between. ——————- In “The Doomsday Book,” a young woman, an Oxford history student, has the chance to time travel to the middle ages. She becomes ill … Continue reading

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Essay. Patriots’ Day

It is April in New England. Snow is melting, the marathon is coming. Since 2013, that is not a simple joy anymore. It is the anniversary of a bombing, the day none of us were innocent any more, the day … Continue reading

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Essay. Milestones……..

I am currently planning Joseph’s 22nd birthday, when he moves from special education for autism to an adult group home. The night he was born, I hemorrhaged after he was delivered in an emergency Cesarean section. The obstetrician said we … Continue reading

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Essay. Finding gratitude when you don’t feel grateful.

This morning I paused at the foot of the stairs and looked for the mirror that hung there for 23 years. It wasn’t there, just a nail and a bare white wall. We have taught Joseph to come directly to … Continue reading

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Essay. My Life in Pets VI. Lily and Dying.

I wrote about Lily’s vibrancy in my last post, and she was vibrant up to the moment she died. I know because I spent that long day with her, including that final moment. How do I describe what cannot be … Continue reading

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Essay. The Road Home.

After a long, hot, drought-stricken summer, autumn is here. The dogs chased balls today without starting to pant. One day this week I wore jeans comfortably rather than shorts. In an earlier time, before we had dogs and a child, … Continue reading

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