Letter from Home | A collection of essays originally written for Flagstaff Live!

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The Grosbeak, the Dentist, and Me

The Grosbeak, the Dentist, and Me

Posted by on Apr 3, 2025

Dear Friend, I hope this note finds you … Well, I hope this note finds you. I think that is enough for now. I want to tell you about the grosbeak I saw the other day while sitting in my parked car waiting to go into the dentist’s office. I was early, or maybe just not wanting to get out of the car. Recently, the slightest agitations of my body exhaust me....

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Training that worked

Training that worked

Posted by on Feb 22, 2025

This letter started differently. The initial draft was about seeking and finding joy in everyday life. I’ve made a crow friend, the Juncos have returned and three chipmunks in our yard continue to play and chase each other around a large ponderosa tree out back. It’s nice to take a breath and imagine this for just a moment, isn’t it? But then this morning,...

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Give more, expect less

Give more, expect less

Posted by on Jan 9, 2025

As a new year’s “resolution,” I’ve been promising myself less time on social media, for at least eight years now. A little over a week into January so far, I can say that I quit this resolution (again) faster than any diet I’ve ever been on. Don’t get me wrong, social media and the internet have enhanced many aspects of my life. What started as a way to...

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A different kind of strength

A different kind of strength

Posted by on Nov 28, 2024

Getting older is not for the weak. This has become my mantra the past year as I’ve struggled physically with ongoing back and hip issues. How it started: I sneezed while getting up from my recliner. While this sounds like the beginning of a joke, it isn’t, although I have tried to laugh with every doctor, coach, and physical therapist that I’ve worked with...

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A book, a garden, a life

A book, a garden, a life

Posted by on Oct 17, 2024

I had the privilege of introducing a friend at her book launch celebration in Flagstaff a few weeks ago. I admire her writing, and her. The essay she read that night is one that I teach in my class. Seeing the essay as part of a whole collection—a book that I could hold in my hands—delighted me. Many will now get to read her beautiful words and ideas. A...

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