Sometimes, when bad news arrives, I think to myself “argh, just when I was beginning to think life was nice and steady!” Today is one of those days. I’m immediately thrown off, though mostly by the scenarios playing out in my head. Not because of the particular fact of which I learn. I’m disappointed by the rediscovery of life’s unsteadiness. At the same time, there’s beauty to be found. After all, there have been times in my life when I’ve been so anxious that bad news wasn’t an interruption, but a confirmation of what I already thought I knew. (Continue)

Have you heard? Anja and I are getting a dog. It was up in the air for a little while, but we got the confirmation yesterday that we’ll get first pick of a nest of eight adorable little Pembroke - Cardigan corgi mixes. We’re meeting the puppies for the first time on Sunday. Are you crying? I’m crying. 2022 showed me that there are serious drawbacks to being an A type personality. (Continue)

On May 2, 2018, as we got off the plane from Stockholm, completing our visit with Anneli and Milan, I said calmly to Anja: “I think I may try not drinking for a week or so.” Nothing dramatic had happened in Stockholm. We had just returned from a midweek staying with friends in the city, followed by a couple days at a cozy cabin in the woods. It was my first time meeting these friends and they are wonderful people: two kind-hearted, curious journalists and their young daughter. (Continue)

I remember it well, my transition from elementary to high school. Gone were the old days of person teaching every subject in a single classroom. Everything would be new again. New subjects, new people, teachers, supplies. It was the supplies that kept me up at night. Books were to be given the right cover, of course there would have to be a new pencil case. New notebooks. A diary. Choosing was never my strong suit. (Continue)