Margin Notes
These blog posts search ordinary moments in my life. That's where magic hides. Always.
Mothers, Daughters, Diamonds
My memories begin as quilt squares, repeatedly arranged until their pattern reveals why certain ones never fade.
My mother Betty and her sister Winifred (Freddie, a stunning beauty swarmed by boys, except for my father Bill who loved Betty), were raised on a farm with no electricity or plumbing. They were complete opposites…
CBB
Holidays are a snap for me.
Over the decades, I’ve collected the requisite ceramic rabbits, felt pumpkins, assorted candles, patriotic bunting, gleaming angels, and frosted froufrou. Seasonal recipes are tried and true. Wrapping paper and coordinating ribbons are easily reachable. Grocery lists, methodically assembled, remind me which stores carry certain items.
I meet the deadlines.
Everyone is delighted.
But New Year’s Eve is a personal killer.
Merry, Merry, Merry 2021
Granted, 2021 presented enough issues to set my hair on fire (daily and sometimes hourly) but no reason to cover that here. For us, the year has been grand, although we couldn’t always see it at first. In fact, American Greetings designed the perfect card—for The Clarks at least.
What Remains
We spend our lives defining ourselves, stamping labels, like t-shirt slogans, across our chests. But the why or how of us is often invisible. It resides inside, inspired from accumulated moments and memories. And objects…
So Many Mistakes
Mistakes come in all shapes and sizes. I’m on a first name basis with most of them. Early on, I got acquainted with some I couldn’t shake. Perfectionism and Persistence caused considerable trouble, a continuing, lifelong theme.
Follow My New Blog
Introducing the newly redesigned karenhenryclark.com! This exciting transition comes with a little homework…
Sidewalk Skirmish
When ODOT arrived to commandeer our sidewalk for a handicapped accessibility upgrade, I could have said, "Yes." They'd jackhammer our 19th century sandstone slabs and haul the pieces away. New cement would fill the expanse. But I refused. And I refused up the chain of command, finally telling the head engineer that this 1859 house…
Paths
Without knowing why, I started building paths in the yard. We've been on this property for six years, digging, clearing, planting. This spring, among the flowers, I saw path possibilities. Tiny ones. Path length doesn't matter. It's a way in and a way out, leading to a place ahead. And to a place inside yourself.…
Lilac Love
Spring failed me for a long time this year. Snow fell far too long. Ground remained frozen. Cold killed a row of daffodils. Pounding weeks of rain delayed the landscaping project. My anticipation for spring's glorious colors, buried itself beneath the mulch. And it's just as well because life turned hectic. Editorial deadlines swamped me.…
Maze Blindness
I quickly lose interest in puzzles, especially mazes on paper. I get upset at all the choices. Stressed. Flummoxed. Discombobulated. Then I start drawing my way through, crashing blindly into one wrong turn after another. I think I see the way, only to discover I don't. I want off the page. My daughter Maggie approaches…
Pivot
Have you ever wanted to give up? I mean surrender, with white flag waving, after trying your best and getting nowhere? Smashing into that brick wall and discovering it hasn't shifted a single inch? Plotting and planning a course forward and ending up farther behind? I have. After 3 months of revising a manuscript, I…
Pantry Treasures
We finally moved into a house with a walk-in pantry. Cliff discovered this 1859 historical treasure had a flour bin, not that we planned on hitching up the wagon to fetch 100-pound sacks of the stuff. Just interesting. Our moves always involve a scramble of opening boxes, sometimes accurately labeled. Filling kitchen cabinetry was easy,…
A Very Covid Christmas
When I assembled the lighted village for 2020, it was the same but different. No carolers, shoppers, Goodwill band, children building snowmen, or Santa. Even the man waiting on the park bench was absent. All were inside, sheltering in place, hoping to survive the pandemic. Like the three of us. Maggie was sent home in…
Chirp
We all respond to certain sounds. Down the street from us, the village fire station blasts a siren for emergencies. Like it or not, we hear it loud and clear, as volunteers race to their post. Hardly front-line responders ourselves, our hearts beat with concern, nevertheless. Our neighbors Rob and Beth also stand ready, listening.…
Bucket List
I never knew about bucket lists until a movie came out with that title. Whenever people talk about their lists, traveling is usually involved. Exotic. Adventurous. I thought about that. I've been on a Mexican bus stopped at midnight by armed outlaws in the jungle. When they boarded, passengers shouted "Dos Gringos!" and pointed to…
Three Good Things
Some people blow out candles and wish. Some people close their eyes and pray. Some people cross their fingers and hope. I watch everywhere, all the time, for three things. They rise up before me--these tiny miracles--tucked into ordinary settings. Had I been looking the other way, I would have missed them. But I wasn't.…
Plants, Peacocks, and Other Pieces
Several years ago, a young woman asked me the secret to a long marriage. As if I were a Wise Woman with a stone tablet. As if I were a Unicorn surrounded by a Truth and Beauty Rainbow. As if there is a secret. But now after 41 years of marriage, I can offer this.…
On a Street in Whiteville
To pick up where I ended in my last post, it happened a block from our house. Maggie was walking our dog down the sidewalk. A man in a pickup backed down his driveway without paying any attention. Maggie quickly stepped out of the way to let him pass. Her movement must have alerted him…
A Cloud Above Whiteville
When I told my mother we were adopting a baby from China, she said, "Honey, are you sure? People say such mean things." Not that I thought she was wrong, but I had no idea what Maggie would face in Whiteville--two white parents with white friends and relatives, living in white neighborhoods, attending mostly white…
Sudden Angels Part 8: The Easter Bunny
PROLOGUE May begins tomorrow. I hesitated to write a blog post about my Easter event from April. I asked Maggie, hoping she'd say, "Blow it off, Mom." Instead, she replied, "The virus has thrown everyone off. Write it anyway, even if Easter happened weeks ago. If it really bothers you, throw in a reference to…