Right now, I’m sitting in my window sill watching the first snow of the season cascade down from the sky. It’s gathering on the steps of my fire escape, forming little white landscapes with peaks and valleys big enough only for Whos and Grinches, and I’m as content as I’ve ever been. My dog is …
Ending Well
This year has been a year. So much can and does change in 12 months. There are the big, routine-disrupting changes such as adopting a dog (I did that this year, his name is Joey, and he’s now my best friend and I like him more than I like most humans) or changing jobs (I …
The Night Before New York
The night before something big is to happen in my life, I don’t sleep very well. My mind can’t stop doing summersaults and my body can’t get comfortable. I know I’m not alone in this sort of night-before, anxiety-based alertness, but knowing it happens to other people doesn’t help me get to sleep. This state …
A Moment of Living Magic
When I was little, going to my grandma's house actually felt like the song; Over the river and through the woods. My paternal grandparents lived about an hour north of us and on holidays, we made the drive up to visit them. There’s something dreamlike about driving off to grandma’s house to stay for a …
Collecting Things
This morning as I sat quietly on the train reading a book about prayer, a tall woman got on at 103rd and stood in front of me. She looked like Dorothy Zbornak if Dorothy had survived a long bout with cancer and was entering the world again for the first time. Her cloudy grey hair …