All The Home Forum
- An autumn harvest of joy – and apples
Our totes were overflowing. But Sebastian turned toward the trees, lamenting, “But there are still so many apples left.”
- From beetles to clouds, finding happiness in nature’s surprises
The power of surprise does not diminish with education. Education only improves your odds of being elated by something.
- Aloha, adventure
It was 1968, and I was in Hawaii for Peace Corps training. One day we were dropped off in pairs along the highway, and told to fend for ourselves.
- What a childhood prank taught me about people
As a child, my prank-loving self collided with my compulsively honest one. I learned that even the strictest teachers can laugh at a joke – sometimes.
- On an island, you can become one
In my mind’s eye I was the solitary inhabitant of Grímsey, as much a part of the island as the island and all its graces had become a part of me.
- After 9/11, this chaplain sows seeds of religious understanding
After the 9/11 attacks, our essayist, a chaplain, was suddenly in demand to explain the roots of violence in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.
- An Afghanistan veteran’s jagged path from war to peace
An Afghanistan veteran reflects on his path from war to peace and the need for both separation and connection in order to heal.
- Why tender grass requires nerves of steel
The Greek gods should have given Sisyphus a lawn mower instead of a rock, and put him in Coral Gables instead of on a hill in Hades.
- Lords of the ring salad
Family reunions were measured by how many times this dish was served. With my mom gone, no one can make it quite the same – but we try.
- Now I know how Elizabeth felt
One day in Thailand I found myself bathing with elephants. I thought of our pet duck, Elizabeth, who used to hop in the tub with my daughters.
- How Mom subtly put the heat on Dad
Dad decried air conditioning, and he and Mom were a united front on the matter – until mom had some cash of her own.
- The first time I made ‘good trouble’
I was a college student in Wisconsin in 1965 when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. urged us – all of us – to come to Selma. We went.
- My daughter had confidence enough for both of us
My task was to build a bunk bed for my daughter's dolls. I knew next to nothing about woodworking, but to her, I was an expert.
- Farewell to a tree: An ancient maple held memories, sons, and wildlife
The silver maple in my front yard was the first thing visitors noticed. “How old is it?” they asked. “Have you ever climbed it?”
- Buoyed by an ever-evolving ocean of used books
As the demands of my life change, so do my tastes and my wants. These internal changes are physically seen in my ever-changing library.
- Parents, everywhere I turn
For this obliging son, there’s no escaping parents’ watchfulness and care, from the U.S. suburbs to a village in Senegal.
- Why I choose to send tactile texts
Before she had a phone, my grandmother would write postcards to her friends inviting them to routine activities, like having tea or going on a walk.
- My little chickadee: I know what he likes me for. But is it love?
Feeding one of the chickadees that nests in my yard has led to a fascinating human-animal bond. But is it love, or does he just want some mealworms?
- In a crisis on the farm, I learn ‘the wisdom of no escape’
The ewe was in distress, and Will and I were the only ones available to help. We went to the barn, each to do something neither of us had done before.
- Announcing E.B. White’s beloved river
There’s something about a line of poetry that anchors me to pleasant memories of Maine. E.B. White thought so too.