Comfort in Creation

Today's post comes from a beautiful person who creates beautiful art. English is not her first language, but the way she uses the language strikes me as poetic. Here she writes about the healing power of nature, and I feel as if we are meandering together along a path through the woods. re:create recess #20: … Continue reading Comfort in Creation

The Sad Song

I had a rare treat last weekend: a Barnes & Noble sat across the street from the hotel where we stayed. Since most bookstores in our area have closed, I relished the opportunity to spend an hour meandering, collecting a stack of books that attracted my attention for various reasons, and sitting in a corner … Continue reading The Sad Song

Phoenix

It can be hard to find beauty as you walk in the wasteland... And some days, seasons, in our lives feel just like that: devoid of beauty, wasted, bleak. But there is hope, friends, always hope. My friend Kristi reminds us to look to the phoenix. Grieve the losses, yes, but look for the new … Continue reading Phoenix

Create in Me

When I chose the word "recreate" to guide this year, I anticipated it would lead to play, fun, and new expressions of creativity. Instead, I have (re)discovered that to recreate often means ripping things apart, hacking pieces off, grafting in something else, and making a mess, in order to make something new. It can feel … Continue reading Create in Me

Seasonal Recreation

How did you play when you were young? And how do you play now? I used to swim and bike for what seemed like days on end. I took art classes, played piano, and read. These days I hike or run or practice yoga. I write, play at art, and have an ever-growing stack of … Continue reading Seasonal Recreation

When It Clicks

College, first semester freshman year, I had a professor (in a non-writing class) who taught me one of the most useful skills I have ever learned: freewriting. "For the next minute [or three, or five], put pencil to paper and Do Not Stop! If you cannot think of anything to write, write that. If that … Continue reading When It Clicks

Practicing Re-Creation

Today's guest post makes me so happy, in part because I recently got to spend an evening with this friend...in person, after WAY too many years (we have spent more years not seeing each other than we were old the last time we saw each other--yikes!). And because, as long as I've known her, this … Continue reading Practicing Re-Creation

Recreate, Re-Create, Create

Ah, family vacations...! Since my dad traveled for work, our family didn't take a lot of vacations. At the other extreme, my husband's family shared annual adventures, each year a new version of the Great American Road Trip. A few years ago we took our kids on a two-week camping road trip--nine states, five national … Continue reading Recreate, Re-Create, Create

The Journey

Our minds play tricks on us. We've had so much fun that we think if we can just stack all the same blocks in exactly the same order, we can recreate that fabulous experience. But, the next time round, we aren't the same people. Even if we manage to stack those same blocks in that … Continue reading The Journey

Swing

A few years ago, our neighbor took down their simple tree swing. He walked across the court and put it under our pine tree, then returned to his garage to get a ladder and tools. Within minutes, their slightly-older children had bequeathed to ours a perfectly good source of outdoor entertainment. Now adolescents, I suppose my kids … Continue reading Swing