If you have elderly parents you likely know what it means to downsize. I think of it like the college stage with my kids where they moved every year or so, only each time my parents move they get rid of more and more family heirlooms. And each time it gets harder to part with … Continue reading Downsizing…Again
Author: michellegunnin
The Memory Table
I think memory tables at weddings are a beautiful tradition. It is a lovely sentiment to display photos and mementos of family members who had an impact on the bride and groom. These ancestors’ faces smile in approval from frames on tablecloths. The candles lit in their memory, or flowers set beside their photos make … Continue reading The Memory Table
A Baby and A Wedding
I gave birth to a tiny baby girl. Hannah Elizabeth. My first. She was wide-eyed as she came into the world. She looked up into my eyes and held my gaze. No crying. Just a stare that felt as if she’d known me my whole life. She looked into me and I into her. We … Continue reading A Baby and A Wedding
Eulogy of a Trail
The nice thing about having my own blog is that there are no word limits. This piece about the Tesnatee Gap Valley Nature Trail is dear to my heart. So much so that my original draft was over 2,000 words! Yikes! That is long, even for me! I cut it down to 1,500 and submitted … Continue reading Eulogy of a Trail
The Garden
There is a patch of earth that lies fallow all winter. I pass the plain brown dirt on my daily path. Every year I await signs of spring, one of which is the tilling of The Garden. The covering of dull dirt is a disguise for the rich soil beneath. When painstakingly turned, the deeper … Continue reading The Garden
Surprised by Grief
Sometimes tears pop out of my eyes for no reason. At least, I don’t usually know why at the moment it happens. It is unexpected, and it hits in the most unlikely of places. I am familiar with how much my senses can trigger my tears. I remember when Hannah was traveling the world for … Continue reading Surprised by Grief
My Next Door Neighbor
My next-door neighbor, the Mountain, has been wrestling with the weather the past few weeks. He revels in the season of hibernation just like a sleeping bear who hates being roused from his sleep. I have watched as he has slowly pulled a quilt of green from his foot to his head, like a blanket … Continue reading My Next Door Neighbor
The Bionic Woman-Who-Does-Too-Much
In our last episode, we left the Woman-Who-Does-Too-Much in a precarious predicament. After a routine hike through the woods her non-bionic knee swelled up like a grapefruit. In an effort to continue doing too much, she wrapped it, iced it, and carried on. To no avail. Eventually she gave in and went to a medical … Continue reading The Bionic Woman-Who-Does-Too-Much
What Kind of God…?
What kind of God clothes himself in flesh? What creator forms and then inhabits his creation? What divine presence comes forth from the womb of a woman? What God gives himself over to his enemies to be tortured and killed, and then saves them all with the very blood they drew from him? What kind … Continue reading What Kind of God…?
Sweet Dreams
In my dreams, Mom is either talking and sharing wisdom or lost and unreachable. There is no in between. As a life-long dreamer I have become a student of my dreams. Some, I write off to whatever I had for dinner the night before. Others contain insights and perspectives I have never considered before. Some … Continue reading Sweet Dreams
Michelle's Mosaic 