Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: gratitude
My Face, My Beautiful Face
It was my first time. I’d never had anyone fuss with my face, shape my eyebrows, those were things other women did, not me. I lay back on the table and she put a pillow under my knees. As she studied my face, she… Continue Reading “My Face, My Beautiful Face”
There is Coffee
And there is coffee with a doughnut. It would be hard to want more. But there have been plenty of times in my life when coffee and a doughnut just led to yearning for something else or finding fault with what I had. Maybe… Continue Reading “There is Coffee”
Find Her: A Reflection on Lion
I don’t give advice to adoptive parents. I don’t tell them what I know or even what I suspect. I keep my mouth shut. It used to be that I figured their experiences would be different and, indeed, everyone’s experiences are different. Easy or… Continue Reading “Find Her: A Reflection on Lion”
Some Things Take a Long Time to Learn
The key to being able to truly feel gratitude is to want less and accept more. I say this, of course, after already having lived a life that has been abundant with many things but knowing that it’s possible and common to have great… Continue Reading “Some Things Take a Long Time to Learn”
I’m Grateful…
That we caught Swirl after he chewed up Howard’s favorite little flashlight but before he could destroy my stapler. That much of my family ascribes to the practice of going out and coming back in again as a way to deal or not deal… Continue Reading “I’m Grateful…”
Hygge Friday Round-Up
Hygge (hue-guh) is the art of wintering gracefully. It’s about making the ordinary lovely and warm but in small everyday ways, intentional but undetectable. It’s a Danish thing. I have a Danish friend whose name is Marcia. She takes hygge with her wherever she… Continue Reading “Hygge Friday Round-Up”
Silver Lining
What winter has going for it is hunkering down. It is in the hunkering down that we appreciate things like blankets and dogs. And we aren’t compelled all the time to be outside because it’s good for us. We took a walk today but… Continue Reading “Silver Lining”
My Face, My Beautiful Face
It was my first time. I’d never had anyone fuss with my face, shape my eyebrows, those were things other women did, not me. I lay back on the table and she put a pillow under my knees. As she studied my face, she… Continue Reading “My Face, My Beautiful Face”
Sports Update
I didn’t think he should be playing ball. Not with the big rod and dozens of screws in his pelvis. But he hasn’t listened to me for years, particularly about sports, and he didn’t this time. My son who was so badly injured in… Continue Reading “Sports Update”
Unsaddled
I am only now realizing how tiresome I must have been back in the days when I had to be the smartest person in the room or die trying. Correcting people’s facts, adding ‘clarification’ that no one asked for, and always, always wanting to… Continue Reading “Unsaddled”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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