Creating in this garden of life
memories, parenting, nature
Taking the time to wander daily around the backyard as a child became a life altering experience for me. The variety of flowering shrubs in our small yard was astounding. There was a hedge of deep purple, lavender and white lilacs that ran along the property line to the east, clouds of fragrance wafting through … Read more
I come from stock of the Depression era, with resultant parental frugality and childhood sense of deprivation in the midst of a well-off and ritzy suburb of Boston. I come from the fifties… Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver, and Father Knows Best sense of strong family values and clear division of labor, martinis … Read more
I believe that a loving spirit and creative energy surrounds and passes through each of us, and all of life and nature. One has to be present in the moment to be aware of this energy. A tiny flame within each of us (Love) will act as an inner guide in navigating, clarifying, and illuminating … Read more
I vividly remember learning to write my name in kindergarten. Miss Dolan hand wrote the letters to trace in colored marker, on long, yellowish double-spaced penmanship paper with green lines. I got so excited when my teacher used orange for my letters (not to mention how impressed I was that same year, when I discovered … Read more
I lost my first tooth the summer before I started kindergarten, while spending two weeks with my cousins. The moment every child eagerly awaits arrived as I bit into the first ear of corn I ever rolled in a stick of butter, as taught by my uncouth cousins. As my teeth grazed along the … Read more
The Issue of Shoes As a child I was expected to polish my shoes the night before Sunday School; applied with a stiff and smelly, greasy cloth and buffed with a large rectangle brush that was almost too big for my little hand to hold on to. Before school started each fall, we got new … Read more
Childhood in the 60’s In the 60’s, long haired troll dolls became popular. There was a boutique in the center of town that had trolls of all sizes, clothed and unclothed, with the thick, luxurious, colored hair I coveted. My friend Eva had a troll collection, including a troll house and all of its … Read more
A Kodak Moment Missed When my youngest son was in Kindergarten, he spent hours building a rocket from an elaborate kit. This being a project far beyond the capacity of most six year olds, his teachers and other people in the building followed his progress with interest, in amazement and awe of this little boy … Read more
Even as a young child, the claw footed coat tree that stood in our front hall was my friend. It was dark and gleaming, pledge-scented mahogany, with large old brass hooks, and a head carved like a pineapple. It held my little hand when, as a toddler, I climbed up and down the chair beneath … Read more
The spectacular beauty of winter is not always as obvious as it is after a fresh snowfall, or when the trees glisten with ice. But if you look closely, you will see muted splendor in the reds, browns, golds, and forest green of garden and roadside brush. On closer observation, you will … Read more