Author Archives: heather

Written for the Redeemer Spirit, October 2020 edition. I guess this is a year for zooming in, as it were, on the ugly. I just read a good book that makes me zoom in on some of my experiences with race. Going to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in the 1980s was supposedly a progressive experience;Continue reading “Instructions for Unmaking Hate”

“When you are a kid, everything is new. You don’t know what’s under each rock, or up the creek. So, you look. You notice because you need to. The world is new. This, I believe, is why time moves slowly as a child–why school days creep by and summer breaks stretch on. Your brain isContinue reading “Looking Under Rocks and the Importance of Travel”

Late May was always the best part of the year. School was almost over, my birthday was coming, the weather was indescribably inviting, you could feel the freedom just around the corner that waited for you. You knew backyard barbecues, clay courts, mourning doves, lightning bugs, Arnold Palmers and long, lazy days of chill timeContinue reading “The Jellyfish Problem and How to Solve It”

It may be the longest week in the longest summer in the longest year that ever was. But now it’s over with the wonderful news that Finn has strep throat! This means we can return to the land of the living, or at the land of the semi-living. Or the land of the creatures whoContinue reading “Great News! Strep Throat!”

It is a gift to have a getaway camp, even for a weekend, in these locked down times. Our getaway is Deep Creek, and we’ll take any invitation we get. So here we are for our second visit of the summer, trying to keep true to our summer traditions. Now we just need some cousins!Continue reading “Love Lake Time”

It was a little sad not to be able to go to Deep Creek for the Fourth, our cousin- and extended-family tradition from the last how many years. But given that we couldn’t, we made the best of it with a visit to our favorite river spot for an afternoon picnic and swim, and thenContinue reading “Orange Moon for the Red, White and Blue”

When things have been the crummiest for me in life, I like to retreat, into the woods if possible. I like the leafy green of the trails that feels like an umbrella and a hug at the same time. The solitude and space give me room to quiet my monkey mind and think, to pray,Continue reading “Living Messy in a Two-Dimensional World”

What’s that expression, “The days are long and the years are fast?” It is wild to think we have three middle schoolers in the house all of a sudden. Finn and Clara celebrated their 5th grade promotion on June 13, after the weirdest year ever. True to form, the celebration was unique. There was aContinue reading “Middle School is My Middle Name”