In some new parent spaces I visit online, I often hear some version of “OH NO! My pandemic baby has had an unnatural life in lockdown! He’s going to be socially stunted!” It’s easy to get hooked by big fears like this, especially when you’re new to the parenting gig. So I spent some time […]
Precious precious wild
Every night when I put Lila down in her crib, this is the last thing I say to her: “Strong back, soft front, wild heart.” I touch her back, her tummy and her chest as I say the words, and then I tell her I love her. It has become like an incantation, magical words […]
So Much to Tell You
It’s a little house on a hundred acres of oak forest. A canyon built like a cradle where, over 31 months, I’ve clambered, climbed and connected. I fell in love here. Today has been my last day on the ranch. We’re moving 3000 miles across the country to another forest and another home, starting tomorrow. […]
Tricked
I was given a new piece of America last night. By a coyote. Marty and I were coming home from our evening walk when we spotted the bouncy gait of the coyote in the pasture. Just a few shades off the tone of the gold-brown summer grass, he swept across the plain as if he […]
Shanti and the Self: A Californian Love Story
Yesterday, my aunt emailed me about this blog. She told me about her time studying in Santa Barbara in the 1980s, and the warning she was given repeatedly as an incoming foreigner: “You’ve come to California. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re in America.” I don’t know if it’s true (is it true, Americans?), […]
What is this “America” you speak of?
I really dig America. But I haven’t really dug into America. You know? I’ve lived here for a while now, but that time has been spent living in the middle of a forest and so I haven’t exactly saturated myself in the marrow of the culture. (Eww.) No question: ignorance is always a missed opportunity. […]
