Walking

How do you walk through the sadness,in literal steps pressing forward when the force of this heavy sadness seems to be pushing you back with each pressing step?

The pain is there and it is inconvenient and messy and it would not pack away with a simple aphorism would not be mitigated by information or proximity or even a simple prayer.

This week we walk with our pain still close still as sure as Martin's brown eyes peering out at us

We will count our victories not at finish lines but when we turn corners and greet neighbors when we practice kindness and when we receive it.

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My blood bleeds Boston, and a part of my grieving heart is dedicated to the Richards. Please consider supporting them as they heal.

10 Lessons from Ira Glass at the Tivoli, CHA

1.) I missed the memo that hipster glasses + checked shirt were requisite audience uniform. #missedthememo 2.) Beginning a live show in total darkness save for the glow of an iPad and the sound of Ira Glass' voice? Makes my mind go crazy, crazy places. #YESnoYESnoYESisaidNO

3.) Ira Glass did not rock the cliched skinny tie. #radiotakesthestage

4.) Ira Glass' parents wanted him to be a doctor and could barely forgive him for his non-pursuit of med school well into his thirties. #salary=agex1000

5.) Turns out the story structure championed by TAL is the same one Jesus used :) #sermonswork

6.) Media offers so very few chances of surprise. News reports are especially choreographed, restrained. TAL offers moments of genuine surprise on radio. #mediasurprise

7.) Tearing a page out of Terry Gross' playbook, TAL storytelling strives to Name the Universal Thing that is so relatable in each story, even if it's about being bitten by a shark. #namingthething

8.) Ira Glass is both Alice and Lewis Carroll. #difference #iraglass #lookingglass

9.) Choosing to attend this lecture was a great decision in lieu of holding a regular old Interactive Online Journalism class tomorrow. #experientiallearning

10.) Ira Glass speaks fondly and often of Terry Gross. Almost as much as Terry Gross speaks of Judd Apatow. #medialove

Reunion

What has changed since the Sousa family last visited us:- We no longer live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts - We have 1 more kid - They have 2 more kids - We no longer have a green Honda CR-V - They now drive a Honda, a mini-van kind of Honda - We are all more seasoned - Jose has new accessories

What hasn't changed since the Sousa family last visited us: - They are still the most lovely family and friends with whom we love to break bread - Jose is still speaking Portuguese to his kids - Maria is still teaching me how to jive with the working-outside-the-home parent rhythm - Their kids are still gorgeous - Jose and I still wax poetic about our abiding love of our respective Dairy Queen jobs in high school - We still give thanks for my wonderful bestie Lozz who first introduced me to Jose when he was her college RA!

THEN: OCTOBER 2008

TODAY: APRIL 2013