Writing – Page 5 – Beth Bates

QUIET PLEASE!

I’m in the No Cell Phones No Talking Beyond This Point alcove of the Carmel Public Library, trying to write. I felt that if I dragged my rear end from the comfort of my home to a seat in a library, I might have more success at the writing-48-minutes-per-day discipline I’ve determined to build intoContinue reading “QUIET PLEASE!”

Sanctuary in Toronto Thoughts from Therapist Friend Who’s Blind

My friend’s blog posts from his recent trip to hang out with junkies on the streets of Toronto are compelling and well written, I think, to the point that I want to share his blog. It’s beautiful. Check it out. http://cshawn.wordpress.com/2009/08/

Wintertime – Living is Easy

Approaching the six year anniversary of the 95 percent blockage in my 38 year-old lower anterior descending artery, I’m still counting my blessings. Happy to be alive, that’s what I am. I snuggle longer, stress less, laugh more, eat dessert first, kiss my sleeping kids — all that jazz. But: I miss shoveling snow!

Inside Out

I cringed so hard, my body folded in on itself and turned inside out. My vessels now hang out in the sun to dry; I put food into my oral cavity but it has nowhere to go and rots in my new skintestines. I’m losing weight, since my stomach is on the outside of myContinue reading “Inside Out”

Working in the Dark

Blind woman who gets lost from the curb to the door of her workplace: “It’s hard when you’re in the dark all the time. It’s always dark for me.” Vocational counselor: “But you’ll be so good at getting around, better than your friends who can see. Your sighted friends can only see in the light,Continue reading “Working in the Dark”

Do Acts of Social Justice Count if They’re Compensated? Or am I just a goat?

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, Continue reading “Do Acts of Social Justice Count if They’re Compensated? Or am I just a goat?”

Jesus wasn’t in my Bible this morning (but he was on my porch)

So, like the good evangelical Christian woman I never was, I made myself go to a quiet place to exercise the spiritual disciplines of Bible study and prayer. Coffee cup in hand, I settled into the comfy brown chair on my screened porch feeling the warmth of the morning sun on my face. I swattedContinue reading “Jesus wasn’t in my Bible this morning (but he was on my porch)”

NOT A LAUGHING MATTER

My last post about poor Jack sending a distress signal from camp found a twist this evening when I discovered that the camp was negligent in dispensing his medication. It turns out they gave him half a dose of his meds, which led to intense and sudden drug withdrawal, leading to very real physical, mentalContinue reading “NOT A LAUGHING MATTER”

A Milestone Letter from Camp

Is a picture really worth a thousand words? Are the words true? Can I trust the words? Whose words are they? And is no news good news? Today, on my son’s fourth day of camp, my husband brought the mail in and announced, “Mail call! A letter from camp!” Last year my son went to campContinue reading “A Milestone Letter from Camp”

My Wicked Funny Husband

My husband is hilarious. It’s one of the many reasons I love him. Another appealing quality is his natural ability to Get Things Done. He’s a strong, assertive man. Forceful yet smooth. Take, for instance, our trip to Chicago last weekend. After our “Wicked” matinee, I decided we’d try one of the top restaurants inContinue reading “My Wicked Funny Husband”