And we shift

I haven’t written here in over six months. My custom theme renewal notice sits here, asking me if I want to spend a little to keep this blog like it is. What it’s really asking me is, “Hello, have you forgotten me?” A handful of drafts wait with thoughts about repatriating, about careers, about memories…

Bouncing Back

I’ve always felt a smugness about my low requirements for maintenance. Makeup is an avoidable chore rather a necessity. I don’t fuss over my hair. I don’t obsess over clothes. Shopping is not my pastime. My demands are few, my opinions rarely strong. These facts led me to believe for a very long time that I don’t…

The Rituals of Coffee

The best part of being a foreigner is the opportunity to connect with other foreigners. (Stranieri is the Italian word for us. Sounds like strangers, no? Without a doubt we seem strange to Italians.) Far from home, we gravitate toward each other for a sense of understanding and community. We offer each other empathy and support. And…

10 Bits of Wisdom from 35 Years

I have now spent 35 years on this earth. It sounds like a lot in some ways, but it doesn’t exactly feel like a lot. At least, I don’t wish to have been alive for fewer years. So many of us are preoccupied with looking young, feeling young. While I don’t care to look or feel particularly…

Quitting Facebook

This morning I declared that I would log out of Facebook. In my mind, I meant from my phone and for the day. As the day has progressed, though, I wonder if I should commit to avoiding the website as well. Maybe for longer than the day. After all, this idea stemmed from an ugly…

~Picking Up ~ Mixed Media

I have been really into feeling empowered lately. Feeling capable is a kind of high I enjoy, particularly because its goodness doesn’t expire like that buzz from the last of that bottle of wine. Confidently taking action feels better than wondering why things don’t just simply change. Mostly because the answer, “They just won’t,” is…

Report from the Facebook-Free Frontier

  I’ve made it three whole days without Facebook. Well, not entirely without Facebook. See, here’s what happened. I started reading very interesting things on the internet instead of vapidly scanning my Facebook feed for interesting things that other people read. No Buzzfeed quizzes. No HuffPo Parents articles. Stuff that I found really important or…

My Facebook Break

I just logged out of Facebook and deleted the app from my phone. This morning I posted to my beloved private moms’ group that I needed to step away. Just take a little break. Five hours later I had popped on to read comments to that post and previous conversations no fewer than 6 times. I…

That Kerouac Quote

I love reading. I love books and brilliant articles that reveal lives and circumstances I’ve never considered. I love learning and discovering the reaches of the infinite world and other writers’ imaginations. I had a little (and brief) fling with the beatnik generation in college. Of course I’ve since forgotten everything I read (as I…

Resolute

I can’t bring myself to share the nitty gritty of this dreary grey funk that’s hanging over my head. Mostly I don’t have the guts to believe I can post it without judgement/not care about being judged. So I won’t do it just yet. I want to WANT to have a big New Year resolution.…