lent, part iii: resurrection.

New buds on cacti bloom slowly. Unfortunately, these new buds aren't the end of our original story. As it turned out, the cactus at the end of our street--the one that the winter storm had damaged, the one that they pruned back to a wooden stump--got ripped out of the ground shortly after. The winter …

lent, part ii: abscission.

They finally cut the dying cactus down. Disoriented and deadened by the winter storm we had in February, its pads had already begun to fall off on their own, rotting dark, stinking stains into the sidewalk. Now, it is only a stump, not even a tenth of its original size. I am shocked how little …

lent, part i: disorientation.

Lately, I've been thinking about I've been thinking a lot about the connections between me, writing stories, and the growth cycles of plants. Well, one plant in particular: the cactus at the entrance to my apartment complex. On an average day, cacti are incredibly resilient. They don't need a lot to survive: mostly just sunshine …

a word for the new year.

Here we are again, friends: another New Year's Eve, my most favorite day of the year. Endings and beginnings, memories and dreams, the impetus for traditions old and new. One of my favorite New Year’s traditions is choosing a word for the year. This word (or words, as it’s been the last couple of years) …

mountain.

we, her children, understand so little. though the lines on her face may change with every silver shift of moonlight, though the edges of her body may soften with each passing winter, and sharpen with each treacherous carving of spring, though her vision may cut clear across the miles, the howl of a wolf to …

where i’ve been (a not-so-quick writing update).

So, you may have been wondering where I've been the last month and a half. Let me tell you, it's been a whirlwind. Since my last post, which was on October 13th, I had originally planned to write again on November 3rd. However, on the day of Halloween, I had a sudden stroke of inspiration …

q.w.u. (quick writing update) no. 1

Welcome to the first of my quick writing updates. The purpose of these updates is to give you a small window into my progress and my process, while also forcing myself to remain accountable to someone--anyone--to sit down and actually do the work. I must say, I'm proud of my writing progress these past couple …

homeland.

Let me tell you the story of the home I found in fields of green grass across the sea. My father and two sisters led the way down the path toward our ancestral castle, toward town, toward an endless sky. Around us, the only herd of red deer left in Ireland grazed on the land …

the write questions.

I couldn't quite put my finger on why I haven't wanted to write for the past couple of weeks. At first, getting a puppy upended my routine, which made writing take a backseat as I figured out how to adjust my mind and body to a new rhythm. This took longer than expected--it's remarkable how …

delight & distraction.

Well, just when I started being productive, we went and bought ourselves a distraction. This distraction's name is Lou. He's eight weeks old, nine pounds, and 100% an absolute darling of an English Springer Spaniel puppy. We love him, dearly, even just in the four-ish days we've had him now. He is so sweet, so …