November 19th, 2022 For the last time this season, I get to thank the best community in the universe for being the best. Out of all the exchanges I had today, a unique one stays with me. A woman in her seventies walked by my table. I asked her if she read. She glanced quicklyContinue reading “Season of a Thousand Nice Moments”
Tag Archives: Empathy
I’m Becoming This
November 7th, 2022 “I don’t know if I’m strong; I think I’m just numb.” – Khloe Kardashian Today — and this week, and this year, and the past handful of years — I wonder how many of us have been embodying this Khloe Kardashian quote. I don’t know the difference between strong and numb someContinue reading “I’m Becoming This”
Leave The Light On
November 1st, 2022 I’ve been reading a lot of pieces lately about whether there is any goodness left in the world. Not just written articles; people I know (and don’t know) are wondering aloud if there is still kindness and empathy and the desire to help left anywhere. While we were out trick or treatingContinue reading “Leave The Light On”
Could I BE More Grateful?
October 28th, 2022 Like the handful of other Americans who still sit down to watch broadcast TV live in the evening, we watched the Matthew Perry interview with Diane Sawyer tonight. I don’t think I can properly express my gratitude for him or my feelings over what he spoke about. It was mostly about addiction,Continue reading “Could I BE More Grateful?”
Two pages in the book of the history of humanity
October 24th, 2022 I read an essay today about how the internet will be dead soon. We’ll look back and laugh at the period of time that we, as a species, spent endlessly staring into the glowing void of our digital devices. The argument for this imminent death is that the internet isn’t real. It’sContinue reading “Two pages in the book of the history of humanity”
Just Another Day
October 16th, 2022 It’s just another day. It’s football day. My dread is warmer than usual, my anxiety sharper. It’s not just another day. My dad legally divorced the Minnesota Vikings in 1998 over an incident neither he nor millions of other sports fans had any control over. My mom stayed committed to them. ThatContinue reading “Just Another Day”
Groundless
October 14th, 2022 I was going to write about fall today. I had a lot of feelings yesterday and thought of some words I was going to write this morning. I was going to take a stunning photo of an autumn tree. And then it snowed. And what I really wanted to talk about cameContinue reading “Groundless”
On The Ground
October 10th, 2022 I just read an essay in which the writer was feeling paralyzed with fear because she felt as though she was living in the shadow of her audience’s expectations of her; she knows she can’t be the best of herself at all times, and people want to believe that you are theContinue reading “On The Ground”
Amsterdam
October 4th, 2022 I knew very little of what I wanted to be as a dad. My friend Kim and I were talking about our families after work tonight; as a special ed teacher, she encountered countless parents who weren’t sure how to react to their families being “different.” She shared with me a storyContinue reading “Amsterdam”
The Kind Monster
September 6th, 2022 Starting today, I’m going to be taking the rest of the month off from posting essays. I feel like you and I could use a break from each other, in a good way. I hope you’ll catch up on posts, if that’s your thing, or pick up some of my work andContinue reading “The Kind Monster”
The Den 