a balanced life

Winter Comes

Winter Comes

Audio recording of this content Winter is coming, or at least it should be. Temperatures here in Minnesota keep easing upwards into the forties to fifties (F), making winter seem like a faint childhood memory. But according to the calendar Winter Solstice is around the corner or here or already passed, depending on whether I…

This is my brain

This is my brain

The other night, I dreamed a man cut into the top of my head and removed my brain. He was wearing blue scrubs, cute little booties, and a mask—a surgeon, not a sadist. Although one can never be sure.   I’d gone to my doctor about neck pain. After several uncomfortable head turns, someone brought…

An Ode to February

An Ode to February

February was the month where my relationship with winter wore thin. All the romance evaporated. Granted, February’s days got longer. Temperatures occasionally rose above freezing. There were moments of affection, even love as the sun came out, birds sang their flirtatious songs, and the sky looked like something I might dive into. But it wasn’t…

Cocooning, a much kinder word

Cocooning, a much kinder word

Staring outside at a sky that stares coldly back, wintertime claustrophobia and reclusiveness seep into my bones. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, flipping the switch and renaming this cocooning time, a word with a warmer and friendlier feel. However, neither butterfly nor human wants to remain in a cocoon for too long….

Gardening and Growing a Life

Gardening and Growing a Life

Last year I learned how helpful it is to belong to a community of writers, and decided to apply this wisdom to my gardening as well. I recommend such groups for whatever interests you have, especially if your friends and family do not share your passion. You can spare yourself their glaze-eyed looks and desperate…