making space for creativity
Going into the birth of our second child, my husband, Evan, was pretty adamant that we bring less stuff to the hospital than we did the first time around. I’m a chronic over-packer, wanting to be prepared for any situation, but with dreams of being a minimalist. So for our daughter’s birth, I really…
As temperatures in Milwaukee compete with those of Antarctica, Lily decided to start crawling, our kitchen pipes froze, and I decided our bookshelves needed an overhaul. Fortunately, Evan got a few days off of school for snow and cold weather. We have a small house and most of our book collection is downstairs on…
Spring in Wisconsin comes quietly and gradually. Grass stretches and greens up slowly, buds extend off naked branches subtly, and then one day you look around and daffodils and snowdrops and woodland violets are suddenly dotting the ground like little yellow and white and purple fireworks. So it has been with motherhood,…
We’ve reached the half-way point of this month-long adventure in Atlanta. Right before we left, I had a sweet new Milwaukee friend ask me if I would mind working and writing from a hotel room for a month—did I need somewhere beautiful or nice to help inspire my writing? I assured her that as…
I love the idea of a fancy planner. You know the kind that has pretty floral pages, goes inside a matching binder, and fits in the pocket of a matching leather purse. And inside my planner would be this lovely to-do list written in neat handwriting, arranged by priorities (A, B, C) and the…
Sometime last year I had a small epiphany: I could wash a dish in water that was neither freezing nor scalding. This did require somewhat of a sacrifice on my part — I had to turn on both the hot and cold knobs on my sink and then wait 10 to 15 seconds for…
One part of cultivating creativity is that you need to feel safe enough to take risks and be yourself. You have to make a space in your home and your heart to feel free to be you and to write, or paint, or dance, or just be. When I think of spaces like that,…
Sleep is one of those things that you don’t think about much until it’s gone. But when a big event is looming, a stressful season strikes, or sickness robs you of your z’s, suddenly sleep becomes an important riddle to unravel. But, like they told you in high school psychology, sleep truly is still…
Last week I was invited to share at my church’s women’s ministry brunch on their theme for the year: the cultivated life. It was a sweet time of reflecting together on the tree metaphors in the book of Colossians and how we’re growing through the hard things we face. I would like to continue…
When my brother and I were little, we used to play a game on long car rides called “In My Suitcase.” One of us would start out saying, “In my suitcase you will find” and then name something, like “five pairs of teal polka dotted socks.” The other person would then respond, “In my…
A few years ago when Evan and I went to visit our dear friends Julie and Brett, I noticed some of their beautiful books arranged by color on an antique bookshelf. I was smitten. I came home and promptly over-hauled our main three bookshelves by color. Every day, I look at them and enjoy…
Seven Springs ago, when Evan and I were falling in love, we spent a lot of time outside walking, picnicking, and just being out in the sunshine after the long Illinois winter. One of our best early dates was to the gorgeous local arboretum. That summer when he visited me in northern Wisconsin,…
When I was a little, my younger brother, Jon, and I would create elaborate adventures for our stuffed animals. Together the brown teddy bear (Doc Bear), the well-loved Carebear (Bluebell), and the orange dinosaur (Anna Kate) would sail around the world on the guest bed, or scale castle walls via a bunk bed ladder….