I work in the best kind of retail situation, a small, independent bookstore situated next to a cafe whose great coffee and scones (maple scones with drippy maple icing) test my will every time I work. Enticing smells waft around us all day long.Usually, they are sauteeing garlic and this my new trick to entertaining. I will saute garlic 2 minutes prior to the guest's arrival time. Even if we are having frozen pizza or my latest efforts fail, ...

We have all heard stories of people whose lives have changed in minutes. One minute they are riding to the top of a mountain and 15 minutes later, they have crashed their bike and severed their spinal cord. Suddenly, their future holds daily physical therapy and the hope that they can sit up on their own. Or, someone opens to the door to receive an unexpected visitor suddenly your son's life is will be discussed in the past tense.

My kids were nice to each other twice this weekend. I saw it and didn't believe it. I stalked them a bit (carefully, slowly, quietly around the perimeter of their play zone), and left the house without comment. I kept this secret to myself and kind of marinated in it. I finally burst at coffee with some friends. "My kids....they were playing together! With joy! Like they were having fun! Together! I.....I don't know what to say. It was just ...

I read a quote that said something to this effect: An apology doesn't have to be a declaration of who is right or wrong. It just means that you value the relationship more than your ego. I fear our world is too full of egos. I fear our lack of progress is a result of our inablity to let go of "me" and really talk about all of us.

I took this post off my blog because I couldn't get the format right. The Twin Cities Daily Planet got it in the brief amount of time it was up. Their format is much more readable! Here is the link to Weird, huh? Not quite...

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I overheard a conversation the other day (some call it eavesdropping, but I call it work), and a young woman said, "Well, I know it's Glee-times and all, but being gay is just....weird to me." Immediately, my mind went to things that I consider "weird" and here is what I came up with:

Sometimes the heart snaps and breaks swiftly and cleanly in half. This can be painful and gut-wrenching....but after you catch your breath, the healing begins. Sometimes, though, it is just a slow erosion, a willingness to let hope die at a snail's pace because there is always some sort of flicker, however faint, that things just might change.

My dad has a little pony that he "got for the grandkids." Yeah, right. Dad wanted the pony because he wanted the cart that goes with it, along with the lead and the bridle and the peace of mind he gets just knowing there is a pony on his little piece of land.

It seems he was born to the wrong mother, the way that we clash so. But, it's what we've got and man, do I love the heck out of him. Despite the number of times we eye each other warily and brace ourselves for another round of the disagreement du jour, I know he knows I love him. In fact, it's sort of a competition. The very end of bedtime always involves a back and forth over who loves who more. We get creative.