Flowers On the Side of the Road
Sammy exploring the wilderness in his sister's pink boots.
Towards the end of what felt like a very long day, we came down the east side of a gradual mountainside in Virginia. Trees lined the highway, a sea of ash brown interspersed with the occasional drooping evergreen. The sun set behind us, pushing the bus’s shadow far in front of us, all the way into eternity.
North-facing banks held up a thick layer of snow – the south-facing banks looked soggy and water-logged. It was like driving the line between two seasons. Read more 
A Message to You
Sam getting ready for breakfast.
Thank you.
Thanks to those of you who came to my parent’s house and wished us well and saw us off.
Thank you for the gift cards and laughter and well wishes.
Thank you for following along with us on our journey.
Thank you for spreading the word about the newspaper article and the news story on TV.
Thank you for praying for us.
Thanks for feeding us and letting us use your showers and park in your driveways and parking lots.
At so many various points throughout this journey (which is only a week old) I’ve met discouragement or frustration or uncertainty. And more than once your Facebook notes or Tweets or emails or blog comments have been just what I’ve needed at that particular moment. Read more
Do Roses Have Thorns, or Do Thorns Have Roses?
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.” Alphonse Karr
Thankfulness is very much in vogue these days. Much has been made of the positive affects of gratitude. Not a day goes by on these various social media platforms that I do not see someone espousing the benefits of a thankful outlook.
A friend of mine has even started a hashtag on Twitter, #gratefuldaily, and it seems to be catching on: he simply says one thing that he’s thankful for and follows it up with #gratefuldaily. I think this is a wonderful kind of routine to have in a world where so much seems to go so wrong. There is something life-giving about this constant turning from disappointment towards thankfulness.
But I’ve noticed that much of the thankfulness in the world resembles the prayers of my children. “And thank you God that Mommy made my favorite food tonight,” or “Thank you God that I got to play Wii today.” Not that there’s anything wrong with the prayers of a child – more of us should pray with the fervor and sincerity with which little ones naturally overflow.
But there is another level to giving thanks, an even more powerful stage of gratefulness that we often fall short of. Read more
Visiting With Grandma, and the Nature of Forgetting
Dad and I walk into the room and find her with her back turned, bent over and studying a square piece of white fabric. She seems so small, the way trees shrink in the winter after their leaves have all been blown away.
“Hey, mom, look who I brought,” he says in a strangely loud voice, then continues as she turns and eyes us up. “It’s Shawn.” The last bit was added to avoid any unnecessary embarrassment.
“Well, look who it is,” she says in a voice that sounds like her old self, only muffled. She reaches up with her still-strong fingers and grabs my chin, then plants a kiss square on my mouth.
“Hi, Grandma,” I say quietly, hugging her. There is a new quality to her hugs now, a desperation, as if each time she lets go she is acutely aware of all the time that has passed. Read more
In Which I Call Out Myself and My Home Town
We all want to belong. We all want to be an insider.
We all want to walk into a place billowing with people and noise and distraction, and then somewhere in that storm we want someone to turn and notice us. We want to see their eyes light up and we want them to forget what they were talking about and we want them to pull up a chair or make a spot at the bar for us. We want them to want to get to know us. We want to know that we matter.
I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I’d love you to love me
I’m beggin’ you to beg me
This desire for friendship and community and intimacy is a beautiful thing. It serves a purpose in the perpetuation of our species by leading to the creation of little people and also to the formation of communities that provide for and protect the individual. We are not all Bear Grylls-types, able to forage on pine cones and various species of moss. Read more
