World of Wonder

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I was never one of those people who dreamed someday of traveling all over the world. In fact, when I was a teenager, I really didn't think I'd ever stray too far from home. Then things changed. With my brother and my friend, Joan Foster, I ended up on my first ever camping trip out west where I worked at Best Friend's Animal Sanctuary, communed with prairie dogs in South Dakota, swam in a lake at Roswell, New Mexico and saw the Grand Canyon. Since then, I have traveled through a hurricane to San Antonio and survived the "Pug Bug"-- a Norwalk virus (like they get on cruise ships) in Pennsylvania. I have been to Memphis to see Graceland and observed Niagra Falls. I swam with turtles at Oahu's North Shore and annually visit the iconic Woodstock, NY. This year will mark my fifth mission's trip to Hana, Hawaii and tomorrow I leave for a creativity conference in Laguna Beach, CA. One day, I dream of seeing Paris. I have discovered that although road trips and airplane flights can range from hectic to downright boring, the sites along the way are often filled with wonder and leave me wanting more.

Children's Hands

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I took these pictures within a few days of each other. Neither one of them was planned. The first is of my niece, Tori, scavenging for pine cones and flowers in the backyard. The second is of my nephew, Avery, showing off the dog statue he made in art class. Both have a magical quality to me conjured by the delicacy of their hands, the lightness, yet, deliberateness of their grasp, the objects they chose to embrace. A world lives in these pictures -- one of fairies, imagination and childhood secrets, a world I can almost reach out and touch.

Our Tribe

Each semester I ask my memoir students to answer the question "Who is my tribe?" It just so happens that this is their assignment for this week as well. Yesterday, our family gathered for our Memorial Day celebration. It's often amazing to see just how big our tribe has grown. I took this photo of all my nieces and nephews, complete with my pug Alfie, to answer this question. Here, is my tribe. By the way, they indeed acted accordingly yesterday, running around like a tribe of wild banshees, but oh, it was fun!

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