Nothing makes you appreciate the gifts of the universe like having something taken away. Like rain. Live in a drought long enough and rain becomes something sacred, a blessing, a cleansing. Rain is celebrated — loved even. So I was downright giggly when I woke up at 4:00 AM to the sound of rain hitting…
November Days of Gratitude: Pieces of Your Heart
They walk around the world In their torn jeans, wearing flip flops, ponytails and home-done manicures. Not children any longer, their days and dreams grow, take them farther from home. Still, though, a rapid-fire response, fierce protection of any slight, day or night — can trigger out from my spirit, like darts being thrown in…
A Month of Gratitude: Finding that perfect someone who’s blessedly imperfect.
I was 37 when I got married for the first time. The only time. The last time. I had been waiting. Waiting for the perfect guy. Waiting for the perfect time. That I didn’t find him until I was 35 is just the way fate works. It may have taken a long time, but the…
Thanksgiving and a Month of Gratitude: Try it!
Truth be told, Thanksgiving is maybe my favorite holiday. I know it’s based on a myth and a history that makes me cringe — but the holiday I celebrate now, a holiday that marks some time off from work, is a chance for me to center again on gratitude. November gives me a time to…
Car wash meditation: an iPhone records and rescues the mundane
I’ve been fighting a bug over the last week — one that kept me in bed for a couple of days. When you teach, you sort of expect that as one of the costs of the job: the kids get sick, so you probably will, too. In the meantime, my car — parked under a…
Me, too . . . Now, what to do?
I have two daughters — one is an engineering major and the other a high school senior. Both are strong-willed and confident. So naturally, I’ve been thinking a lot about the “Me, too” campaign because, sadly: Me, too. There’s been so much talk about what to do about the pervasive and destructive sexual harassment that…
A Photo a Day: When you don’t come back to the place you started from
Day #24 Toby and I took a walk last night. Felt like rain, but only because the wind had kicked up a bit. That’s not a good thing these days. A flammable California does not need wind. But it’s autumn and the evenings cool off — lately with brilliant sunsets, fiery and red. Our normal…
A Photo a Day: The Day when Grades are Due
Report cards are done for the quarter. All afternoon, I wrestled with grades, reflecting on my role in how well or not well my kids performed, reflecting on lessons won and lessons less than. Hitting the submit button isn’t as much the end of the quarter as it is the set of directions on a…
A Photo a Day: Nightshades from the garden, a spooky delight
Last night, needing an onion, I grabbed the flashlight and made my way out to the vegetable beds. As I grabbed two onions (they’re not very big) my eyes caught sight of the tomato plants, heavy with ripe fruit. I picked two but quickly realized my arms were not going to hold all that needed…
A Photo a Day: Stitching together a history
The Harrington Gallery in Pleasanton, CA, brings in some amazing exhibits and the one I visited last night might be my favorite. Unfortunately, the exhibit closed last night; nothing like waiting until the 11th hour to see something that should not have been missed. Thankful I made it there. Titled SOUL SEARCHING: The Spirit of Africa Expressed…
A Photo a Day: I hope I’m not too latte . . .
My darling daughter was asked to homecoming today when she and the boy went out for coffee: The hand-lettered sign reads: “Hope I’m not too latte . . . ???” for you to go to homecoming with me (that last part he spoke or they just both assumed, I’m not sure). He gave her roses….
A Photo a Day: Look to the Children
It’s been a heck of a week. Still reeling from the devastation that’s happening in Puerto Rico — and having just returned from Montana — I woke up on Monday morning to the news of the fires in Sonoma County. At first, I thought, oh yeah, fires . . . it’s that time of the…
Barbara Ganias Comstock 