If you had ever told me that I would have the opportunity to spend several hours in the company of the Most Revd Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, and former Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, I would have responded with an emphatic, “Impossible!” However, I can now see that impossible is not a word…

Consistency is a trait I value. I grew up in a home where people were not always consistent, so knowing what to expect on a day-to-day basis is something I find comforting. When I was growing up, there was a certain consistency to life: Lorene arrived every weekday at 8:30 without fail, she was consistent….

Today in church, we prayed for people listed in our chantry book, where parishioners can add loved ones’ names to honor the anniversary of their deaths The first name called out this morning was Helen Waugh Leatherwood, my mother. My mother died of lung cancer on January 23rd, twenty-five years ago. Each year after my…

I spent several hours today with my grandson, little two-year-old Ethan. He helped me take out all the trash, blow leaves, and scoop up dog poop. He also ate oatmeal with lots of cherries, and over the day he had pineapple, dried mango, a turkey patty, nuts, potato leek soup, and an apple. Best yet,…

My friend, Sonny, sent me this poem yesterday. While he was visiting, we had been talking about writing, and he said, “I have a poem I wrote a few years back that I’ll share with you.” This is that poem. Sonny lives in the Northeast Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. He was awarded a Purple Heart…

This was a writing prompt from Dinty W. Moore’s book Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and Publishing Creative Nonfiction. What makes me dull and uninteresting? A list in no particular order: 1) Being too polite2) Being self-absorbed3) Being afraid4) Being nervous and self-conscious5) Not taking risks6) Not pushing beyond my limitations7) Getting…