This week I listened to Kristen Bell talk about her beliefs and how she has grown and changed in a podcast I’m still enjoying. Even as I admired her wisdom, I couldn’t help but think about how I missed my chance to meet her over an overflowing toilet. It all started when my mother and… Read more
mistakes
Have you ever thought you were done? And then you weren’t? Yesterday, I thought, was my last day of this never-ending summer quarter at school. I woke up early, eager to get to the day. I took a shower, fed the critters, and shocked the coffee shop I go to by getting there two hours before… Read more
Not too long ago, I was correcting papers and wishing the writers would not be so inventive with their sentence structures and vocabulary. I would see something with a phrase, a comma, or an unfamiliar word like ‘thalassemia’ and sigh. I had an prickly sense that something was off but wasn’t strong enough on the structure to… Read more
Criticism and rejection are the best parts of becoming a writer or other artist. I know. That’s insane. Even as I write this, I am avoiding re-reading critiques I recently received. I am avoiding it like I avoided driving down the icy road where my van slid and almost tipped over the edge of a cliff last January… Read more
“You know all those paintings your mother makes and then throws out?” My sister and I nodded as my dad said this. We knew. “Well, I pulled a few out of the garbage and stuck them up in the attic. Remember to get them out of there when I die so she doesn’t toss them.” I understand why… Read more
As promised after the Super Bowl Sadness, I looked into people who have made mistakes and bounced back. When I googled and asked others about this I found three interesting things: 1. Lots of people have made mistakes. 2. No one wants to talk about their own mistakes. 3. It’s much easier to think even our… Read more
My first column in The News Tribune ran last week. In it, I talked about my admiration for Pete Carroll and his leadership of the Seattle Seahawks. After reading it, several people I knew (and many I didn’t) sent me emails telling me how much they liked my work, including my high school English teacher Mrs. Koon. It felt wonderful… Read more
Last Monday, I sat in the dentist’s chair as he tried to break off the five year old ‘temporary cement’ on my front tooth, and I mentally cursed my 16 year old self for her carelessness. Sometime in the 1980’s I had ridden my bike down a hill thinking the most important thing was to… Read more