Maddie's Mom Writes

Category: This and That

  • Yin and Yang

    Balance is important in everything you do. There’s that old saying that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. It’s definitely true. Try to think of some action, thought or feeling that doesn’t have an opposite. Forward/backward, happy/sad, good/bad, there’s balance implied in all those couplings. It’s an integral part of living…

  • Autumn Rain

    Inspiration strikes and sizzles like water on a hot skillet. Words form freely and pour forth upon the page like a torrent of refreshing summer rain. Cooling, soothing and oh so welcome after the days heat. The promise of more to come is like the lightning and the thunder, one faithfully following the other. Would…

  • Weird Words 2

    Phlegm When you look at the word “phlegm,” it looks really odd, but when you say it you realize that it is perfect.It has a sound that is somehow just right for what it represents. And if you happen to have phlegm in your throat when you say it, it gets even better. Its roots…

  • Father Figures

    My father loved me. I’m sure of it. He never really expressed it in words. It was more in the way he looked at me across the dinner table or stayed with me until I fell asleep on those nights that something troubled me. It was in the tenderness of his hand atop my head.…

  • In Gratitude for Beauty

    Now and then I am astounded anew by the incredible beauty and unimaginable complexity of the world around me. I feel awe and appreciation and gratitude for being allowed to be a part of it. I experience a closeness that gives me peace and a sense of purpose like nearly no other thing can. It…

  • Jigsaw Puzzle Mania

    Jigsaw puzzles! Hoo boy. I get a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment from putting jigsaw puzzles together. Nerdish? Probably. My husband, Bernd, enjoys it also, but not nearly as much as I do. We’ve only recently begun doing jigsaw puzzles again. When we first moved to Arizona, we’d spend our evenings working on one together.…

  • Weird Words

    It’s said that the English language might possibly have more words in it than any other comparable world language. People are always qualifying things and I have no idea what might be meant by comparable. Unless they mean a marginally (qualifier) related language like German or Dutch. In any case, most accounts put the number…

  • There’s Nothing to Figure Out

    For the most part, I spend my days with people very near to my own age. I do get the opportunity now and then to spend some time with people considerably younger than me. I’m not talking about ten year olds. I’ve reached an age where I think thirty is pretty darn young. Oh my!…