Stretch Marks - Buddha lessons from my children

Thinking out loud

2010-10-06T22:21:00.002-04:00

Last night I texted a friend that "making lunches sucks," but I regret that. Making lunches is a chore because I have to think about what to put in the lunches at 10pm. Making lunches is actually a zen proecess of nurturing and negotiation and reaching out to my children at lunch time when I can't be near them. Making lunches is wonderful.

Hannah's recital

2009-03-16T14:58:00.001-04:00

Click the link to hear!

Beautiful

2009-03-16T13:43:00.004-04:00

So funny, now that I am writing, I also am feeling like I have something worth posting...Your Opinions are the Problem Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could no

Facing Facebook as an inevitable, though uninvited conduit to the past.

2009-03-15T16:59:00.003-04:00

For those new to facebook or still resisting, the New York Times, The Way We Live Now offers some food for thought today:from Growing Up On Facebook By PEGGY ORENSTEIN[Remarking on the strangeness of her nieces going off to college while still being ultra connected to home and former school mates through Facebook and contrasting that to her experience decades ago:] ...Certainly, I kept in touch

Leahy wants a post-Bush era Truth commission

2009-02-10T09:23:00.004-05:00

Patrick Leahy is exploring the possibility of a Truth Commission http://www.pubrecord.org/torture/673-leahy-proposes-truth-commission-to-probe-bush-era-abuses.html <

Find your own Lambaréné

2009-01-18T11:01:00.004-05:00

As a Schweitzer Fellow for Life, I am proud to share the following:In honor of Dr. Schweitzer’s birthday on Jan 14--in a nice coincidence the day before Martin Luther King's-- the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship officially launched a year-long U.S. campaign to promote Schweitzer-spirited service, celebrating 2009 as the 60th anniversary of Dr. Schweitzer’s one trip to the U.S.In celebration of the

Eris, Makemake, Ceres, Pluto, Haumea...update your solar system

2009-01-08T17:44:00.002-05:00

I happened to miss the fact that we now have five new "dwarf planets" in the solar system as of September and that we now officially have only eight planets. I've kept a little sticky on my solar system map since 2004 waiting for some big announcement about the new planet name for UB313. Apparently-- with the wars and economic meltdowns,... oh and Brittany Spears' various meltdowns and as

SInce we're committed to change

2008-11-06T21:33:00.002-05:00

I noticed that Michelle Obama lists the following among her critical issues:a. helping working women balance work and family, andb. encouraging national service.She also mentions supporting military families, but I cannot speak intelligently on that, so I won't addresses it here.These other two issues are crucial to changing how our citizens respond to President Obama's vision for change. a.

Remember today for your grandchildren

2008-11-05T13:53:00.002-05:00

It will not be enough to remember the date of the election or the name Barak Obama. Today is a day worthy of new poems, anthems and portraits. I told Satya today she must remember the smells, the way the sun looked, the smiles on people's faces, the conversations she had. She must construct her memories as they happen and file them away, not just for her grandchildren but for her great

too awful to look. too awful to look away.

2008-10-25T20:08:00.002-04:00

NY Times article about rape in the Congo http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/world/africa/07congo.htmlWhat is to be done? The NYTimes comes dangerously close to excusing rape and negating this whole article by accepting the history: "rape has always been a weapon of war." I am not sure that is the correct reasoning or reference here. Rape is now collateral to the AIDS epidemic and to poverty in

Nothing diligence and faith can't overcome

2007-10-07T18:04:00.000-04:00

I never guessed what a toll disability could have on a family's ability to stay sane and stay together. As I watch other families divorce and otherwise part ways, I am all the more resolved to keep ours together and stronger rather than weaker by virtue of the challenges we face. Kuruna is such a gift to the world. I don't want his life to be blamed for family strife.I noted with cynicism (

Declaratory ruling over breakfast

2007-07-12T11:38:00.000-04:00

This morning for breakfast Satya wants Cheerios and milk. This is a traditional meal in our family (yes, we are making it up as we go along. This breakfast entree has been a mainstay since Staya could gum food from her fist. So as family traditions go, this one is well established -- so well established it has a song associated with it. It goes "Cheerios and milk, and Milk! and Cheer-ee-oos!;

Ban the Bulb

2007-05-09T21:26:00.000-04:00

The Earth Policy Institute is way ahead of me (see side bar...things to do on compact flourescents)! It's a good thing because I have done nothing for the last two months but study for exams...last one is tomorrow! Time to turn out the CFL.

Stuck in Climate Change Purgatory?

2007-04-29T16:01:00.000-04:00

This in the New York Times today on Carbon Neutrality as modern-day indulgences!Quoting Andrew Revkin:"...is the carbon-neutral movement just a gimmick?On this, environmentalists aren’t neutral, and they don’t agree. Some believe it helps build support, but others argue that these purchases don’t accomplish anything meaningful — other than giving someone a slightly better feeling (or greener

Looking for a New "New Deal" and some courage

2007-04-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

Wallace Roberts has a provocative piece in the Vermont Guardian questioning whether there is such a thing as affordable living in Vermont -- or anywhere else -- for the average person.I have to admit, my husband and I have recently had conversations about our financial state after law school that go something like this:"How can we make $ X from our combined incomes so that buy a house in Vermont

Global Warming and football

2007-04-25T21:31:00.000-04:00

Thomas Friedman in the Times today said: The biggest energy deficit we have right now in America is the energy to lead on this issue. I have a five year old nominee. In a recent conversation about the origins of Gatorade, Satya asked why it was necessary to create an electrolyte sports drink. I explained the severe conditions under which young men train for the fall football season. I

Something is wrong here...

2007-04-19T17:43:00.000-04:00

I may (or may not) have a child who is challenged by Autism. For that reason and because it is hard to avoid the topic these days, I keep up with the latest in Autism news and research.* *(O.K. I am in law school, so it is fair to say I don't keep up with anything. My dear Mom keeps up with the news and research and sends me links and articles.)What I am seeing makes me extremely uneasy. For

rethink

2007-03-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

Does the law need to be rewritten? Yes, "the law". That's what I meant. THE law. U.S. law, International law, common law....Law. The human concept(s) of law. Does it need to be rewritten? OK, re-considered?Give me a break on the practical side. I am asking this initial question without regard to HOW. I just want to consider that perhaps the concepts of law are way outdated.Law seems to

Thunder on the Mountain

2007-03-04T12:36:00.000-05:00

After two weeks of all of us having the flu and one week of getting back to normal, Kuruna came home with the "throw-ups" and Satya came home with a shiner after a big sledding accident. We spent the remainder of last week nursing bruises, cuts, fevers, and nausea.This morning, I returned to law school work in earnest for the first time since the beginning of February. I took the long back

In a bubble and in trouble

2007-02-26T12:33:00.000-05:00

It was 20 years ago that Paul Simon crooned, "the Planet groans every time it registers another birth." (Graceland, 1986) That year we were a mere 4.9 billion-people planet. The latest figures (2005-2006) estimate the global population at 6.4 billion.Now, reluctantly scientists involved in the global warming discourse have added population growth to the list of contributors. Al Gore, Bill

Happy Valentines Day

2007-02-14T15:57:00.000-05:00

photo credit gadjoboyIt's a very white one at our house. 18 inches of powder at 4pm. Outside the window a sheet of white gauze hides the rest of the natural world. No trees. No mountains. No sky. No sun. Just snow, snow, snow.Inside sniffy noses and occasional fits of "boredom" give way to masterfully designed forts, illuminated Valentine's cards, and smells of fresh bread in the oven.We

Serendipity

2007-02-07T23:12:00.001-05:00

I read on 3Quarks about Al Gore's foot soldiers and link by link got to New American Dream. Just looking at the home page makes me smile. Like a Valentine's card for every Buddhist heart I know.Happy surfing!

Serendipity

2007-02-07T23:01:00.000-05:00

Busy-Backson

2007-02-07T00:52:00.000-05:00

I can't remember what part of Winnie the Pooh this comes from. There is a Mr. Busy-Backson who is always running to the next thing. That was me today:I was up at 5...studying for a half hour,making lunches,making coffee for the magnificent spouse (He loves my coffee; therefore he is manificent.),breakfast - more studying (usually time for a run, but it is -1 F outside)off to Kuruna's

We'll miss you Molly!

2007-01-31T21:59:00.000-05:00

From the Star Telegram - Austin"Molly Ivins, whose biting columns mixed liberal populism with an irreverent Texas wit, died at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at her home in Austin after an up-and-down battle with breast cancer she had waged for seven years. She was 62. "Molly was a courageous and outstanding columnist who always kept this disaster (of leadership since 2000) in perspective for me.I had hoped

Hold your seat

2007-01-31T00:42:00.000-05:00

Pema Chodron shares in her Lojong / Tonglen teaching, the many mindfulness slogans brought to America by Chögyam Trungpa. Each day I think of another favorite. Today: Which ever one happens, hold your seat. This saying means, if you have a "good" day, just wait, things will change! While this probably sounds pessimistic to Western senses, it is actually quite wonderful. It admonishes us not

More reform notes - high speed rail and compact flourescents

2007-01-24T22:43:00.000-05:00

Not too many things more at opposite ends of the efficiency spectrum than creating a national rail system and adopting regulations that demand use of compact flourescent lights. The similarity appears to me, though, in terms of political will. Whether we aspire to change the major mode of transportation in this country or just to change the lightbulbs, regulation depends on leadership in

Mom: the Anti-adventure

2007-01-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

I have heard mothers more than once inveigh against fairy ( faerie?) tales because, inter alia, there are no mothers in them.Satya's watching Finding Nemo this afternoon and (guess what?) Nemo's mother is killed in the first minute of the film. Is it time to join "mothers-against-mother-less-faerie-tales" (MAMLeFT).I realized while drafting the MAMLeFT charter, that there is a very, very good

The Wish Game

2007-01-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

I was going to write about how I can't sleep at night now that my friends and my friend's children are at risk of going back to fight in Iraq. But I won't do that here. I will write about that to the Boston Globe (if they don't publish it, I'll let you know what I said)Instead, I am going to write about the wish game. It is much more productive of world peace, I think. Here's how it goes:

What gives us the courage of our convictions?

2007-01-04T00:50:00.000-05:00

Martin Luther King in his Letter from a Birningham Jail laments the "moderate whites" and "do-nothing Negros." There position on segregation is "bewildering." Better, he says to be against him than apathetic. From the safety of a more integrated society, I can comfortably agree with King on the principle: say what you believe and believe what you say; don't avoid taking a position merely to

Lessons I learned on the last Friday in December

2006-12-29T23:58:00.000-05:00

It's easy to get five fruits and vegetables per day, if you start with two fruits at breakfast. Satya: banana, cranberries, chicken vegetable soup, french fried sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, fresh orange juice...I think there is a growth spurt in her immediate future.It's easy to love yourself, if you spend some quality time at a mirror. Kuruna: yesterday, ten minutes at the science museum

More on Star Mints

2006-12-29T22:43:00.000-05:00

I know them as Star Mints. Apparently this is an error. They are Star Brites Mints. However, since the manufacturer feels it necessary to spell its middle name phonetically instead of in English, I feel under no obligation to include it here. In fact, I guess the brand name doesn't matter except that Star - Mints are ubiquitous. To my knowledge, every after dinner mint I have had has been a

Explaining the list...starmints

2006-12-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

Every restaurant should have after-dinner mints for their guests. These should be peppermint flavored (not spearmint, not cinnamon, not orange!). This is not complicated, though you'd think so by the state of things. I have even offered to set up a foundation in my will to help restaurants overcome the daunting logistics of complying with this most basic of dining needs.

Oak Leaf Daisies

2006-12-27T21:35:00.000-05:00

Channelling my New Orleans past. That's what surely explains why Satya burst out with the above name for her "girl band" today. She will be the fiddle-playing lead singer of the Oak Leaf Daisies someday, building on her Louisiana heritage of zydeco, Mardi Gras Indian, jazz, blues, Maple Leaf music. She doesn't know this yet. She's still learning "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" on the violin and belting

Second day back...

2006-12-26T23:39:00.000-05:00

...and already a new look.I promised myself I would get some sleep. I also promised myself I would read ahead in my case books. Alas, adding new features and new color schemes to my blog seemed too important to pass up tonight.In case the above comment paints me as a total airhead, I will add that my other activities today included reading the New York Times and discussing global climate change

a christmas story

2006-12-25T21:56:00.000-05:00

When I was younger, Santa used to leave me the most fantastic notes about adventures in the North Pole and the mischievous dark elves. How delighted I was to see, upon reading his letter to my daughter this morning, that the tradition continues! December 24, 2006...I could have used a smart girl like you at the North Pole this year! We had quite a lick of trouble! Have I told you about the

Gift from Finland

2006-12-25T21:54:00.000-05:00

Go to YouTube to see the Helsinki Complaints choir. I found out about it from Marko Ahtisaari's blog (where else)?

the cheering throng

2006-10-15T23:47:00.000-04:00

Where are you people--who should be standing on the sidelines, by the bathtub, at the dinner table, in the "wayback" of the car--- attentively eavesdropping? If you were here with us, you would see such incredible progress! No, better, you would see heroic feats of courage and physical grace. You would see Satya's expressiveness, dancing excerpts of the Nutcracker. You would hear her

Crazy Busy

2006-07-06T09:38:00.000-04:00

Oh. I thought I was out for a nice Sunday boat ride. Now I am falling over Niagara, and I think one of my contacts has fallen out.Edward Hallowell, M.D. in his book, Crazy Busy, writes about the incredible amount of things women have to keep straight in the current era. The author, clearly after my own heart, entitles the short chapter "Why Women Have It Harder Than Men."There is a "dizzying list

mulling over law school

2006-06-16T11:48:00.000-04:00

I start law school in the fall. My class is already starting to assemble via a Yahoo list-serv and (Ugh, dare i say it?!) a MySpace site. I have been reading through the posts with interest and -- truth be known-- some jealousy and uneasiness. They are all young and energetic. Many have dogs they love. They are talking about hobbies, outdoor recreation, language tutorials and house warming

Blindness

2006-06-06T09:58:00.000-04:00

Before I began teaching "inner city" kids, I had no idea what it meant to be poor in America. Had you asked me to describe poverty, I would have been like a blind person with a sketch pad - able to draw an image but without the experience to conceive the picture nor the ability to understand what I had projected. By meeting "my" kids , hearing their stories, visiting their homes, I was able to

Fourth Amendment saved by USA Today?

2006-05-12T08:02:00.000-04:00

(Warning...I am about to get un-Buddhist on you...If you think you will be offended, that's ok. Read on.)Come-'on people when even USA Today becomes part of the "outraged liberal press," you've got to know something so obvious and beyond the bounds of reason must be going on in our government. Look, these guys are no Washington Post or NYTimes. The last time I stumbled over a USA Today it was in

In answer to your question, Satya...

2006-05-03T21:06:00.000-04:00

Space is the nickname we use for everything beyond our Earth's atmosphere. It is a good nickname because there is lot of it and it seems relatively empty from our point of view. Doesn't it look like there is a bunch of "space" between the stars in the sky? Don't we know there is a long distance or a lot of space between Earth and other planets, Earth and the Sun or our Solar System and other star

Living deep

2006-04-28T23:23:00.000-04:00

Those who don't feel life pulling them like a river, those who don't drink dawn like a cup of spring water or take sunset like supper, those who don't want to change, let them sleep. ~RumiMy brother, once a very little child to me, is now all grown up. I am so proud. I am so amazed. For he, more than anyone I have ever met embodies Joseph Campbell's admonition to follow your bliss.He will be the

The emergence of little things

2006-04-21T13:19:00.000-04:00

How glorious the emergence of little things on a cold spring morning! Ladybugs showing up on my windowsill and spiderlings hatching from well camouflaged egg sacs in my eves. Crocuses flowering from still grassless fields. Even the little child who now emerges so early to wake me from my slumber.All of them a tribute to how powerful yet the counterinsurgency might be against the mis-anointed

Kinda blue

2006-04-19T22:12:00.000-04:00

A dear friend asked me today how I'm doing... Parenting has its share of tragedies, large and small. The crises of parenting, I have discovered, are seldom the ones I expected were lurking in my future.Sure, there are the major medical traumas with big names ending in "oma" or carrying some distinguished doctor's last name. We all react to those by jumping off a cliff, landing on a tarp

A week of prophets, messiah's and great teachers

2006-04-15T23:40:00.000-04:00

Moses, Buddha, Christ, my kids....I wrote to a friend this evening...Parenting, I am pretty sure, is the answer to everything, if you are willing to be open and humble and inquisitive and generous. My kids have taught me every worthwhile thing about the world I know. There are many things they have also tried to teach me that I haven't learned yet. My job is to pay better attentionToday I learned

Learning as I go...to be a Democrat

2006-04-07T15:26:00.000-04:00

I attended a talk given by Vermont Lt. Governor candidate, Matt Dunne, about a week ago. As I listened to Matt--who has led the national Americorps-VISTA program, served in the Vermont Senate for 11 years and been involved in service in many other ways--what inspired me most was his call to service for all Vermonters. I think that, as much as anything, is something we Dems can hold up and hold

Spring Cleaning

2006-04-02T10:33:00.000-04:00

It's here. The warm weather energizes us. The Sun makes us manic. We are busy bees, birds, ants, beavers...chucking out the tired, the old, the cluttered.Yesterday, we made four boxes of clothes to donate to a couple of charities and to send off to friends' kids.We also made plans and wishes for the spring and summer. What advnetures we planned! We'll go on hikes; we'll go to amusement parks;

Kids' intestinal tracts are extremly resilient

2006-03-30T12:25:00.000-05:00

I really won't elaborate too much on this one, except to say that given the variety 'foreign objects' that have made their way through Kuruna's digestive tract and have evidenced themselves to me (forgive the verbiage) without any signs of distress to his system, I am checking 'swallowing dangers' off the list of things to worry about -- for now.

Would Gandhi have embraced a cyber-based legal system?

2006-03-13T16:33:00.000-05:00

I spent Saturday night re-watching Gandhi. I have resolved this year to read all of his writings - unfortunately haven't gotten through any yet. Ok, I haven't bought any, either. Somehow, I feel like buying books on Gandhi from amazon.com is counter-intuitive.I just got an article from my bro about what happened to prisoners in New Orleans and Mississippi during and post -Katrina. I think I am

Who??? is the Surgeon General?

2006-03-08T09:26:00.000-05:00

I was writing a comment to Sassypants on her blog post about Sex Ed, much on my mind as my four year old begins her journey as a sexual being.So I have thought for a long time as I wrote in September that the ideal sex ed for teens -- especially girls -- would "consist mostly of my showing all of my stretch marks (no, they do not become silvery almost invisible "trophies") and discussing the joys

Really tough questions...

2006-03-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

Satya asked with a quite a bit of frustration yesterday: "Mom, how can we say that Mercury is 'near the Sun,' if it is actually millions and millions of miles from the Sun?"Anyone have a good way to visualize the enormity of space???

My new found alto-ism

2006-03-06T13:17:00.000-05:00

Parenting is finding the strongest harmony to support and develop the melodies of our children. Pre-parenting life in pursuit of my professional (what else was there?) and personal growth was spent trying to out-sing my peers in one way or another. Literally and figuratively -- I spent much of my youth in the performing arts -- I sought to lead everyone else.How is it that I am a leader to my

Needed: Magical Kingdom antidote

2006-03-03T12:57:00.000-05:00

This is it. I am done. Disney has gone too far. And, I am declaring war. I have been quietly disgusted at the Disney Princess craze, hoping that its marketability would die down, or become passe after being overhyped. But now I am horrified. Disney has announced that in early April it will open the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Here's a short description:"The boutique is to open in April at a

Postcard

2006-03-02T22:09:00.000-05:00

Written on a cut-out section of cardboard box and sent to a friend via U.S. PO:"Hullo there...You know they have Star Wars fruit snacks?! Yes, you , too, can get blueberry molded head of Darth Vadar and Chewy Chew-bacca. They are not as yummy as those cute and lovable Pixar trademarked fruit snacks, like Nemo.I think we need "Fossil Snacks" like: Head of Lucy, Austrolopithicus (that would be in a

Mardi Gras day 2006

2006-02-28T10:33:00.000-05:00

Jen Granick's blog shares a little Mardi Gras splash today. Her pictures include evidence that the party goes on...with masks of one kind...and another. Nagin gave another stupid speech, drunkenly toasting "our Zulu brothers" who died in Katrina. Not sure he's any more a Zulu brother than I am!In the meantime, Mosaic continues trying every avenue to pull the pieces together from afar. And the

"Benevolent" lump

2006-02-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday. Found a lump low on Satya's neck. Called Doctor. ...who said not to worry about it, probably linked to last week's cold and sore throat.Now I am thanking the non-issue lump. For I spent the rest of the weekend grateful and present. Grateful to have a healthy vivacious daughter. Present in every delightful moment I get with her.

A song on a Monday morning

2006-02-27T21:56:00.000-05:00

As Sesame Street says, "One Small Voice" can teach the world a song. The essay on "This I Believe" this morning by 16 year old Josh Rittenberg gave me a little hope for making it through and even more hope that there will be a promising future for Satya and Kuruna.

Can't write

2006-02-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

I set out at the beginning of the year to write more and to write frequently. I can't write tonight - especially not about nice things and my children. I have been trying for the last couple of days to get myself into a yummy safe place, but I can't find one.Frankly, I am afraid and angry. What will become of the Middle East? What will become of the bird flu? Will we ever have healthcare rights

Angry

2006-02-12T17:42:00.000-05:00

Poverty in America This site gives an idea of what its like to be poor in America. It asks : what do you leave out when you leave below the poverty line.Seeing this site hit me in a familiar place, an angry place. I cannot abide the suffering of mothers who cannot protect or provide for their children. The notion that this great big "mother" earth, and we humans as her caretakers, cannot provide

2006-02-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

MicaPosted by Picasa

Absurdities

2006-02-10T12:36:00.000-05:00

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.-Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778)A friend attached this quote in her list serve post this week. She was referring to current events in our home state and on the national stage. I think she meant that people who can make you believe untruths can make you act unconscionably, too.Still, something bothered me about the work

Our liability

2006-01-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

My next door neighbor and I were discussing the Cashman case. It may be difficult to parse the politics from the jurisprudence, but one lesson is clear. Our penal system is not well designed for rehabilitation. And, unless we plan to incarcerate for life or kill every offender Â an impossible proposition Â we must examine and amend our criminal codes to rehabilitate offenders as early as

Blogosphere: the new picket line?

2006-01-26T19:16:00.000-05:00

Discussing politics, religion, the war (the most recent one) with friends, someone noted how we don't see students out on the green (I live in a small college town) protesting "like they did in the 60's."As the conversation ensued, these women posited substitute venues for protesting. The blogosphere was offered as an alternate commons to the town square. The blogosphere offers a lot to young

Uninhibited creativity

2006-01-16T23:06:00.000-05:00

I have an idea about where to go for advice on building back New Orleans post-Katrina. Ask the children. Satya created a neighborhood in half an hour, graced with flowers and windows and front doors. She even moved people back in to their houses.I am an adult. I know that drawing three stick houses and moving 250,000 people into a ruined wasteland are not the same thing, at all. But I also know

Right action, right intent

2006-01-15T21:18:00.000-05:00

Driving to church with Satya and Kuruna, I see a runner, on the way. Oh, I need to run! I announce. (These days, the sight of a runner in winter tights, a ski cap and mittens instantly raises a green tinge in my complexion.)Why don't you,? inquires Satya.Well, I don't have enough time. I have work, and then I come home and I need to make dinner for you guys. By the time dinner is done and you

Remission

2006-01-14T22:21:00.000-05:00

Why is it that we don't recognize our learning habits better? There are recognized stages of learning, but those identify levels of competency. They do not reflect the psycho-emotional state of the learner during a prolonged learning experience. I am talking about something akin to the stages of grief, where is discussed the student's perspective on how "great" or "stupid" the endeavor is.Satya,

Cost of living

2006-01-11T22:57:00.000-05:00

I promised I wouldn't rant on this page. SoI won't rant, but I might complain a little hereabout the cost of livingon a middle class incomewithout anysquozzies (that's our word at homefor indulgences)not Indulgencessomething the CEO of Exxon Mobilis going to need whenhe can't buy his wayinto heavenwith his $80 Million a year salary.

working in "development"

2006-01-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

One cold day this past fall, I bundled up and headed out for a run. I made a minor detour to greet my daughter who was playing with a friend. "Mommy?"she asked, "can I have your gloves--I'm cold." Without hesitation, I put them on her, then planted kisses on her cheeks to keep her until I returned.I missed my gloves. I have always detested being cold. But now I fear it. Something changed in the

Tub time and the Golden Rule

2005-12-31T20:42:00.000-05:00

I had an insight this evening about Jesus' dictum to treat others they way we want to be treated. My two little ones (Satya and Kuruna) were playing in the tub. Kuruna kept pulling Satya's hair with the predictable response: Satya would scream "Mom! Tell him to stop!" I would come in and say don't take his toys and Kuruna won't have reason to pull your hair.After a few more episodes of this sort,

New Year's Revolution

2005-12-25T23:04:00.000-05:00

I have heard the wimpers of a coup d'etat in the halls of my unconscious; and I am not impressed. I have seen it before. The do-gooders, the change-agents, the liberal reformers--all adorned in stately idealisms--have got themselves riled up again to campaign anew. The annual bout of amnesia has set in, erasing year upon year of failed crusades from memory, making room for false courage and

Why the piece counts on puzzle boxes?

2005-11-20T03:27:00.000-05:00

I always thought that puzzle piece counts on jigsaw puzzle boxes were about competitiveness. The boxes heckle to passers-by: "How many pieces can you handle? Twenty? One hundred? TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY?!! Come on, how smart are you, really?" The checker at "We B Toys" judges from behind her bar code reader, "Oh, a fifty piece puzzle..." ... "It's, uh, for my, uh niece."What I have learned, now

Chalk dust

2005-11-02T16:46:00.000-05:00

Our Unitarian minister remarked in August on the paradoxical state we are in as the only known conscious observers of the Universe and simultaneously as such tiny and brief and inconsequential participants. So it is with the Universe; likewise in the minute space of our own lives.My best friend sent me and Satya, "the star princess," a poem by Ted Kooser, Poet Laureate, entitled Telescope. The

Liberals are losing another sure bet

2005-10-11T16:56:00.000-04:00

Where is Mother Theresa when we need her?The New York Times, in an article entitled, "Liberal Hopes Ebb in Post-Storm Poverty Debate" is a perfect illustration of the shell game going on among the rich in this nation. Jason DeParle gets all the sound bites I have been hearing too:"We can't raise taxes now when the economy is hit so hard by Katrina." "The programs we would cut to pay for Katrina

Rescuing our culture before it is bulldozed away

2005-10-04T17:29:00.000-04:00

NOLA's Ark? ...In this case, after the flood.I was dreaming this morning and somehow (maybe it was from celebrating Rosh Hashanah last night) Noah's Ark floated into my mind. Honestly I thought about Noah after the Tsunami, also, but I didn't have anywhere to talk about it. Could there be a "NOLAs Ark" as a part of this effort? A place to put things we want to save and renew or restore when

Jumbo Roll

2005-10-02T00:02:00.000-04:00

'Just wondering if anyone else can call up the scent of Charmin toilet paper on demand and if it invokes in them the same sense memory that it does for me....I have many many memories associated with smells--Granma's Shalimar, Papa's kitchen, Mom's gardenias--but none so readily available as those associated with a roll of Charmin. It is not a complicated nostalgia: an image of my childhood home,

Why the title?

2005-09-30T00:26:00.000-04:00

Stretch marks - Buddha lessons from my childrenI have often thought of starting a teen-pregnancy prevention movement educating girls about the ins and outs of pregnancy. The curriculum would consist mostly of my showing all of my stretch marks (no, they do not become silvery almost invisible "trophies") and discussing the joys of morning sickness, sleep deprivation (yes, I am still talking about

Over a year and in and out of weeks

2005-09-29T16:23:00.000-04:00

Last night I spoke to local and state legislators about my son and how far he has come in a year. It prompted me to look back at where I was a year ago - struggling to communicate with him.... September 2004 - It’s like being under water, isn't it? Everything sounds muted and dull. Sounds thud in without any “brightness.” Music is fine, still interesting with enough variations of frequencies to

3-5 minutes

2005-09-28T16:19:00.000-04:00

Tonight I will address a room full of people about my son and his progress over the last 12 months. I have 3-5 minutes to do it.The purpose of the meeting is to give parents the chance to talk about the support we have gotten from our local parent-child center. The Family Place is wonderful! Our case worker is a terrific warm friend who has helped us through many a frustrating day. With their