In Laura’s Words
I write to shine a light on a dim or otherwise pitch black corner…to provide relief for myself and others. It’s the light that I am looking for. And the wonder it illuminates.
May my words land in your heart.
yours, Laura
Bed, Bon Bons, and Book Tour
Even if the world still needs to stop in many many ways, we can be part of the living in a pandemic. We can move around in the world in our own social distanced way. We can move around in our homes wearing clothes and creating ritual and experiencing our space whatever it may be. Even a one room apartment has many invitations to live in it. Read a book in the sun rays beaming from your kitchen window. Eat a meal at your table with a Zoom companion who is doing the same. Put on some music and dance. Go out on the balcony and watch birds. See what they have to say about all this. And yes, get in your bed and rest. But don’t stay there.
Feeling Good in Your Body in Support of Your Craft
Ask yourself: “What movement can I do today that will be fun, supportive, and loving toward myself?” Be curious about the answer.
A Very 2020 Holiday Card/Cure
Well…it’s been a motherf***er of a year. Many of us feel that we can’t complain about it unless we got Covid, lost someone we loved to it, or are on the health care front lines. But we have to talk about it. We have to. However we are affected by this global pandemic, I know that if we don’t talk about it, whine about it, rage against it, beat it...
Haven Home for the Holidays
Maybe you'd like to write your way through the holiday season...Maybe you're alone. Maybe your elderly loved ones are alone. Maybe you’re quarantined and can’t get home for the holidays. Maybe you’ve lost loved ones to Covid. Maybe you suddenly have a house full of people and you’re worried about getting sick. Maybe you’ve been home-schooling for...
Happiness Healing… Try it!
Recently a new friend asked me what makes me happy. I talked for a while, trying to get at the truth of it and landed on: caring for others. It felt authentic. But then I woke up this morning and there was something in my gut that wanted to answer that question again in a way that was more self-indulgent. Self-preservational. As I let myself...
Alone Together
I have been an observer of humans all my life. My father used to say, “People are the same everywhere,” and I feel like my life has been a field study in seeing if I agree with him. And that means: I talk to people. The cashier at the gas station, the person on the park bench, on the airplane, in the grocery store line, taxi/Uber/Lyft drivers....
Distanced and Disoriented
I have never been more hyper-sensitive in my life than in these last six months. At first I was ashamed of it. All my life, people have told me “You’re so sensitive” and not as an observation. Rather, as a criticism. There’s a lot of shame around that feeling for me. Even so, I’ve worked hard to keep my sensitivity intact, along with its...
Haven Summer Blog Series #2: The Pandemic and Me
I will be posting short essays from Haven Writing Retreat alums for the next few weeks... ...in hopes that you will be inspired, and mostly so that you know you are not alone. We're not going for talking points or even wisdom. We're going for truth. Here is the next installment of the series. You might consider writing your own. The only writing...
Haven Blog Series: The Pandemic and Me
I will be posting short essays from Haven Writing Retreat alums for the next few weeks... ...in hopes that you will be inspired, and mostly so that you know you are not alone. We're not going for talking points or even wisdom. We're going for truth. You might consider writing your own. The only writing prompt I gave them was this: The Pandemic...
Taking Flight from The Empty Nest
I originally published this piece with Covey Club and I re-read it this morning to remind myself that it's okay to dream about the future in exotic ways. After five months of a very full nest, after a very empty one, I’m back to living solo. The last time this happened, I hit the road. Spent a month in Morocco, and two weeks in Spain. I’m so...
Pandemic Fatigue
Announcing the summer blog post series! Theme: The Pandemic and Me I will be posting short essays from Haven Writing Program alums for the next few weeks, in hopes that you will be inspired, and mostly so that you know you are not alone. We're not going for talking points or even wisdom. We're going for truth. Writing heals. Telling our stories...
Summertime Taps: an ode to young motherhood from an older mother
I wrote this twenty-three years ago, as a new mother, at the end of a long Montana summer day... It was my first published piece and I still love it. The kids are off on their own now, climbing mountains into their own setting suns. The world is a different place, and yet we're still the same. Enjoy! It is summer in Montana and it is past our...
Peace of the Morning
Finding thankfulness and peace in the morning with dogs
Re-entry: can a smile wear a mask?
Finding the courage to go out in the world again.
Hugs in the Time of Covid
I guess that when hugs are abundant, our subconscious can peer into our deepest fears. And when they are not, we peer into our greatest longing.
