The Benefits of Retreat

Last summer my writing group visited my parents’ cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We scattered around inside and out in the mornings to work on our writing projects; in the afternoon we went on an adventure. In the evenings we talked and laughed. What a wonderful...

Lessons from Moving Office

I recently inherited a bedroom left vacant by Kid 3, who took Kid 1’s bedroom when she moved into an apartment. This empty bedroom has become my new office. It was no easy task to move a decade’s worth of stuff from my small office on the main floor to this vast...

2016: Books I’m Glad I Read

I keep track of the books I read each year. There’s no particular reason except that I like to look back and see what I read. I read 37 books in 2003, the year I had 3- and 5-year old boys and 11- and 13-year-old girls. In 2013 I read 57. In 2016, 60. About half are...