A cobble by itself is just a small stone, but when many of them lay together they create a path . My life is made up of many discrete parts. I have to find ways to fit them all into place so that I can continue to journey where I desire to go. This blog records some of the cobbles that create my path.

Mothers Day

Today is Mother’s Day. Mostly I am ignoring this fact because I don’t want to be required to have a good day. I also have no desire to require my family to provide me with one. If the day happens to be good, I will be glad of it. If otherwise, then additional guilt does [...]

Ups and Downs

Up side of the day: I actually worked on some of my projects. Down side: My evening has been stomped upon by my child’s poor homework planning. The emotional stew has chased away all the blog thoughts which I hoped to spin into something interesting. Sigh.

Brief Thoughts on Formal Clothes

On the Sunday after Prom, many of the young men and women who attended wear their formal attire to church. I love this tradition. It lets the clothing be worn more than once. More importantly, it lets me have the chance to look closely at the beautiful dresses. Kiki paid more attention this year because [...]

Projects in Process

Stepping Stones book project: I opened up my book project today for the first time in over two weeks. It feels like it has been longer because my brain has been working double time in the interim. I spent a couple of minutes reorienting myself in the project and figuring out where I left off. [...]

Watershed

I propelled myself into Monday on a wave of nervous energy. I knew when entering the week that it would be a watershed. The work and decisions of this week determine the shape of things to come. It was important to get it right, so I made a list. The list was my focus. Task [...]

Photos from Arches

Arches National park is a place of stunning beauty. It has been photographed with far more technical proficiency that I am able to produce. Yet there is something about my photos that speak to me in a way that the professionally taken photos do not. I remember standing there. I remember the feel of the [...]

Looking toward the week ahead

I counted the number of essays I have left to revise before I can call the revision done. Six. I am so close. I could do that in a day if I pushed myself hard. The trouble is that if I wear myself out finishing the revision, I will be no good for the other [...]

Convention and staying home

Howard is away at a convention this weekend. He is visiting with familiar friends and meeting new people. He will have fun conversations and eat out at restaurants. I am here at home with the kids. This arrangement is normal for us. It is a division of labor. One of us to go be public, [...]

A Brief Thought on Managing Systems

I have run out of brain today due to extreme effectiveness in tackling my To Do list. So I offer a thought I crafted last month when I was helping Kiki wrestle with her school’s registration system to set up classes for next year: Among the things my kids are learning by participating in public [...]

Some days are grouchy without good reasons

For a day which had higher than usual levels of grouchiness in it. I think it ended pretty well. The broken lawnmower was hauled away by a guy who thinks he can fix it in less than a week. The girls were hopefully chastened and made to think a little bit about their repeated conflicts [...]