Last week I got more texts from the emergency weather alert system than from friends and family. “Severe thunderstorm warning!” “Flash flood warning!” “Tornado watch!” I like to be outside during thunderstorms. Perhaps my mother planted that wish when she told me that in her youth she loved to sit on a hill on the
One November I found myself living in a new town where I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t get invited to holiday parties and no guests were coming to visit. I felt sad. One day at the Y I saw an advertisement for half price sessions with personal trainers during December. I gifted myself. Between Thanksgiving
I have had only one conversation about politics this election season. converse—verb. To talk informally with another or others; exchange views, opinions, etc., by talking. I’ve ranted at times. Usually with people who see things the same way I do. Ranting is about blowing off steam and trashing the other party. rant—verb. To speak or
It was a hot, boring summer. I spent many nights alone in my apartment, without TV or the internet. My children lived far, far, away. I missed them. I drove for hours along empty interstates for my work. Then, it happened! A friend called, and said, “Sounds like you need to get away. Let’s get
Rewrite the Stories You Tell Yourself Rewrite the stories you tell yourself, and you will find it easier to bounce back from failure and recover from loss. I have a collection of favorite stories about myself. I bet you do too. There’s the time I went skinny-dipping in the town pool; how my minister father
This summer I lived for three months without internet or cable TV at home. I didn’t choose to. I stumbled into a media fast after moving to a building that wasn’t wired for service. Then I got mad at Time Warner Cable when they added a monthly fee for equipment I’d been told I didn’t
I moved four times in the last five years. It’s painful since I like order and stability. Also, I collect things like antebellum bricks, patent medicine bottles, glassware, pottery, and multiple sets of china. Said the latest crew: “Your boxes are heavy.” I used to think I knew how to move, but things keep happening
What makes one country embrace peace and reconciliation while another devolves into tribal, genocidal civil war? This is the question I often ask myself when contemplating how Rwanda rose from the ashes of its past, while South Sudan, once the darling of the conflict resolution world, has fallen into petty bickering which often results in
From Deborah Rankin, RD
