The Journey

"Seek first to understand," Stephen Covey wrote in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It sounds so easy but can be so difficult! ​A good air day is a breeze of 10-12 knots off the beam butit is also when the breath of angels  provides insight into the...

Perhaps she was exhausted in a good way,grateful for the once-familiar chaos of family,the slamming of screen doors, clanking of dishes, continuous squeak of the refrigerator door, boisterous voices around the table.Perhaps she was determined to catch her...

The first time Mother and I saw the windmill turn its blades was when her twin flew from Albuquerque to Holland to celebrate their 90th birthday. The second time was nearly eight years later, her first day home in two months. Thursday, she walked to her bench at...

July was tough for Mother. A series of mishaps landed her in Medilodge of Holland for rehabilitation. She’s determined to go home. Many people are intent on helping. To say thank you, we decided to write short, humorous poems to make everyone smile. We call them...

When I say the lake is like glass I mean the kind of glass on which I once loved to skate,back in the days when I waited patiently for the Zambonito shave the frosted chunks off the iceand the pools of water to evaporate.I remember lugging a...

Is it okay to be afraid? I whisper,my words slipping out unintentionallyas lightning illuminates an angry skyand thunder explodes like circling cannons.  Sails down, we huddle in the companionway,knowing the mast on our sailboat is a conduit for the electrical fury...

Before sailing out the channel,an army of sweat beesemerges from the forestas if telling meit’s time to leave.Picture​Thank you to Mother, who agreed to move into respite care while Rubin and I sail out the channel and head north. (Respite care is designed to...

Death, certainly, is the most permanent. Like the time my older sister lost her kittento the teeth of the dog next door. Or the morning he, who could no longer speak, said goodbye to his wife with his eyes. But I also have wept after...

Two deaths in three days. A brother. A poetry friend. And yet, the robins, finches, cardinals, and chickadees are singing from the trees at dawn. Their songs remind me it is a new day rich in possibilities.​How do I want to live my “one wild and precious life?”...

As I was not thereto see the young fox  emerge from its den beneath the neighborhood bench,witness the inquisitive eyes confronting the camera,watch its black boots boundacross the sloping dune,the white tip of its tail disappearamong the first...

Photo is of Ludington’s harbor, where the first lines of this poem were written. Celebrating decades of difference ​He says our sailboat is like a cottage on the water.I am drawn to the unknown that beckons from beyond.He taught me to feel the wind on my...

Sunrise, Racine Yacht Club, ​the beginning of my Lake Michigan sailing adventures 43 years ago ​​On April 24th, I will be speaking about a lake I have loved since childhood. In preparation, I reread my book, Uncharted Waters: Romance, Adventure and Advocacy on...