Just_Margaret

The summer after I was in Eighth Grade, I took a trip with my youth group. We’d been planning for over a year, fund-raising and working toward that goal of renting a cargo van and taking off from our sleepy New England town and heading to parts south for a week. We were participating in a service project for a family in rural Tennessee. Our particular job was to install sheet rock and new floorboards in their home in the Appalachian Mountains, which was way off the beaten path. To say it was a life-changing experience for me seems too trite, too pat.  Read more >

I used to drive a lot.  For years, I had a long commute to work and I liked it that way.  It was my own space to prepare for a long work day and to decompress on the ride home. My car was also my freedom, and the highway was the ribbon that connected me to any place I wanted to go.  Back in my single days, I'd hop in my car to go anywhere I felt like--into Boston to see a concert; clear across the state of Massachusetts to meet up with a hot Aussie for a couple beers;  down to Philly, to reconnect with a college friend. I loved me a road trip.  Read more >

Dear Oprah, At 4 p.m. Monday, having studiously avoided all on-line references to the "big reveal" that you had scheduled, I flipped on the T.V. in my kitchen. My eyes pricked with tears listening to you weave the tale of Patricia.  As you narrated her story, I knew before you ever said it.  I knew Patricia was your sister.  Allow me to congratulate you on the new addition to your family!  Read more >

Last August, as the days quietly got shorter, I knew I'd either have to get myself back on anti-depressants, or find another route to keep my head in a good place -- November was coming. Nothing is worse than having two kids just becoming excited about the upcoming holidays and feeling as if I'm in an absolute pit. of. despair.  Read more >