I awoke at 3:30 in the morning, Paris time, and couldn’t get back to sleep. In fact, I had barely rested the first two nights of our trip. My body wouldn’t be fooled into thinking it should be snoozing when it was six hours earlier at home. My mind was filled with the images of … Continue reading Blame it on Rumi
Month: February 2018
Be Present Now
The last week of that school year, I was standing in the grocery check-out, making my final purchase of health room supplies when I received a call from my younger sister. Our almost ninety-year-old mother was in the Emergency Room of our hometown hospital, being admitted for an acute illness. We’d never seen Mama so … Continue reading Be Present Now
Better than a Pen Pal
One of my favorite classes in elementary school was geography, especially in Miss Harrington’s fourth grade. I loved how we learned about the lives of people in faraway places. Back in that day, we would say they lived ‘overseas’ and that seemed like an insurmountable distance. The only people in my family that had traveled … Continue reading Better than a Pen Pal
Sedona: A Serendipitous Journey
Taking yearly pilgrimages started after my serendipitous journey to Sedona. What made that such a pivotal point, was the juxtaposition of entrapment with freedom. During the preceding eight months of cancer treatment, I’d been closely monitored; by the clinical trials research company I worked for to see if I was able to do my job; … Continue reading Sedona: A Serendipitous Journey
True Nature
I spotted the girl from across the room. She was the one, looking unabashedly into the camera, with eyes that are serious, like they’re gazing into your soul. I was at the Art Cats Gallery in Petoskey, Michigan during my solo journey several summers ago. The photograph had been applied to a fiber art collage … Continue reading True Nature
Manna
I thanked my friend for the “Thinking of You” card she’d sent, the one in my mailbox on top of the stack of bills. “Oh, that ole thing? I’m sorry it wasn’t a better one but it was what I had.” I knew why she’d said that; the card was a bit faded and the … Continue reading Manna
The Rhythm of the Day
I arrived at the two-week writer’s residency in central Kentucky, expecting to have to juggle my time between farm chores, shared kitchen duties with fellow artists, providing a community educational program, and writing. But when I got there, nothing was as I expected. The herd of cows had been sold, there was no garden, and … Continue reading The Rhythm of the Day
Not Like Me
I watched that ‘hunk of burnin’ love’ from across the crowd. It had been a fun day, riding my bike around Mackinac Island in northern Michigan and then happening upon the outside summer concert. I wasn’t content to just watch ‘Elvis,’ I wanted to get up close to him. As soon as he finished his … Continue reading Not Like Me
Connie Rosser Riddle 