We met our garden guide, a woman in blue plaid and a broad straw hat, beneath the evergreen oak in the front square of the villa. For decades, this same tree stood as a witness to the buzz of life in the Origo family home, to the passage of seasons, to the march of time across the Tuscan countryside. Now,…
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One Important Question to Ask Yourself When You Feel Wounded
I scribbled the question posed by the spiritual director in three different places, so every time I sat down, I’d feel the gentle nudge to think on it. It’s a simple question, but I didn’t immediately know how to answer it. “How has God been working in your life in recent months?” he’d asked. I knew this wasn’t the kind…
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On Watching Our Kids Grow Up
My youngest daughter turned thirteen last week, and we celebrated her with all the simple pleasures she requested. Munchkins for breakfast, spaghetti for dinner, Funfetti for cake-making, a make-up palette called Sweet Peach in a tiny, confetti-strewn gift bag. I captured the day in mental snapshots. The frilly pink peonies blooming in a jar next to her bed. Colorful pom-pom…
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Rooted: Learning to Love Where We Live
The four of us piled into the car, two adults in the front with a camera between us. Two kids in the back, with a bad attitude sitting between them. We drove 2.9 miles to a new-to-us botanical garden and pulled into its gravel lot with a satisfying crunch. I drive by the entrance to the garden regularly, but I’ve…
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Kindness as an Antidote to Outrage
At the end of the semester, I sit with my students individually to discuss their grade and their progress throughout the term. It’s the only time I’m guaranteed a one-on-one meeting with each of them, and last week, I arrived early to set up my drink and my papers while I waited for them to sit across from me. When…
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