And another year begins. I used to think I needed to promise something big each year as it began and then keep that promise as the year progressed. Now, my list is not promises but intentions, some routine things I want to continue through the year and some new and some bigger things, too. Intentions just sound softer with no recriminations if I don’t accomplish some of them. I did fairly well in 2023 and ...

Banning Books They are afraid they are losing control. Fear is powerful. It can spread throughout the body and paralyze or spur someone on to action, sometimes dangerous action, punitive and not thought out. What can we do. . . those who believe in freedom of speech, who believe in live and let live, who revere the written word? How can we open a book, turn the pages lovingly, and open up our minds to ...

I am posting this quite a bit later in the month than I usually do. Nothing came to me, and I was kind of down in the dumps, anyway. But I have become a member of a poetry community here in Springfield, Missouri, and it has perked me up. It’s an active one, doing readings all over town: in bars, the library, a church, a neighborhood gathering, book stores, a coffee house, open mics, and ...

July is National Anti-Boredom Month.* “I’m bored,” you think as your eyes wander around the room, trying to decide what to do next. Nothing calls to you, and you begin to feel a little guilty just sitting there doing nothing. “What can I be doing?” you think. “How did I get to this place at this time?” Exploring these questions may lead you to some conclusions, maybe even that a little boredom is necessary for ...

We had some lovely days here in Southwest Missouri to bring May to an end, and now maybe we’re ready for June. Summer will arrive soon and probably hot, humid weather, as well, but we can look back and remember how the beautiful spring days made us smile and look forward to fall and the cool down. But, wait! No! Let’s bask in summer’s offerings: trees leafed out, bright flowers in bloom, fresh produce from ...

I’m lucky to still have a mom at my age. She will be 91 in June. I will see her then rather than on Mother’s Day this year. But I’ll be thinking of her and calling her. She lives in an independent/assisted living facility now where she is safer than she was living alone in a farm house with lots of stairs and a long trek out to the mailbox in all sorts of weather ...

April has crept up on me, but time has a way of doing that. Spring is definitely showing itself in all its glory here in Missouri: flowers, birds, warm weather, being more comfortable outdoors. It’s an uplifting time. The picture above is of my neighbor’s and my phlox collection, planted just last summer. They survived the winter, even showing a bloom or two between cold snaps. But, they are in their element now. Seeing them ...

March is Women’s History Month where we celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of women. It began as International Woman’s Day on March 8, 1910. A German activist named Clara Zetkin suggested the idea at an international working women’s conference in Copenhagen, and it began to be celebrated internationally the following year. Many countries recognized and celebrated the day, but the United States didn’t begin celebrating it until 1975. A task force in California created Women’s ...

I am sitting here today thinking about love in all its forms. It’s been a gloomy, cold week so far with snow and ice. So the peek of sun earlier today was a welcome sight. I love sunlight and how it’s melting some of the snow and ice, especially on the roads. It has been a little treacherous the past few days. I’ve stayed inside except for a couple of appointments I needed to keep, ...

My word for 2023 is “Intentional.” I want to live intentionally, give my time to what matters to me, be useful in some way, find purpose in my daily life. Like many other people, I often live randomly, just wandering from one activity to another, unplanned and disorganized. I know I can’t plan every moment of my life. In fact, that wouldn’t be a good way to live. There has to be time for spontaneity, ...