Thanks for dropping by. I'm a author and teacher with interests in education, mental health. faith and community. I like to wonder aloud about everyday life, hope and the silly, incongruous things that shape us and make us who we are. I also like hats, cake and those tiny little snores cats make when they sleep. On the Home page, you'll find around 100 wonderings, all different in length and content. On a pc, you'll see a 'Select month' menu at the side where you can choose a piece from the last 12 years. You can find out about my books on the Books tab. Miracle! I'd love to hear your comments below any posts you read. Have a good day. Deborah
"...If you listen carefully, the earth is singing." I swung round sharply. The two girls nearly crashed into me, their hands cradling petri-dishes filled with wood lice, ants and a fat snail with a shell crisis. I had one of those rare moments of tenderness. "That's beautiful," I said, "Really beautiful!" They looked up at … Continue reading The eye (and ear) of the beholder
The narrow blades knifing through earth showed no hint of bloom. Carly watched them, remembering the promise on the pack, Plant now, blooms for Mothers Day. She watered the pot before school, all anxious-eyed and pajama-ed, curtain of hair swinging onto cheeks sharp with cold . What if they weren't ready in time? On the way to … Continue reading Other Mothers and the Kindness of Spring – Short Fiction for Mothers Day
Sleep mode - the pc stays on but uses low power. Apps stay open so when the pc wakes up, you're instantly back to where you left off. When I was younger, I could sleep anywhere. I've spent nights on floors, coaches, trains and under stars on the side of mountains. Once, memorably, I slept … Continue reading Sleep mode
I refuse to believe you get fussier as you get older more experienced (we've banned the "o" word in our house due to occasional bouts of melancholy). I mean it's true that answering the question, "Can I get you a cup of tea?" is slightly long-winded these days - "Yes please, quite strong, but not too strong. … Continue reading Tea and Other Transforming Things
We're climbing the Malvern Hills, and I'm wheezing like a catfish. I briefly consider whether dropping dead on a narrow path between trees in sight of the summit, is a good way to go. An action exit, so to speak, in pursuit of something beautiful. But decide against it. There are few walkers up here … Continue reading Hills and giving thanks on All Hallows Eve
So it wasn't the best weather, and it wasn't the best place. The windscreen wipers squeaked double-time all the way there and there was rain on and off all week. It was cold. The upstairs shower didn't work and the toilets were dodgy. The roof in the conservatory leaked in three places and the smoke … Continue reading A lifetime of holidays and I’m still learning…
I am one of those people who sometimes puts things down and can't find them again - lesson plans, cheques, small children. I once left my son in the meat aisle in a supermarket while I popped round the corner for salad, then couldn't remember which meat aisle (Chicken? Beef? Delicatessen?) He turned up eventually, … Continue reading Things I’ve lost and the art of growing down
It's Bank Holiday Monday. As we wander round the shop, alongside people in shorts with trolleys of plants and barbecues, and kids clutching garden toys, my husband whispers, "The older I get, the more I think we're not like most other people." Looking down at our replacement lampshade - I elbowed the old one while … Continue reading The Humble Transistor – how to shed forty years.
I've had a revelation. About signage. It happened the other day at a church in the middle of Derbyshire. Despite the cold, and slicing rain, the approach was beautiful - a thumb of stone, a fist of graves and beneath the lychgate, crocuses. Inside did not disappoint either. There was amber light, wood and brass, … Continue reading The Blessing of Good Signage
I'm trying to decide how to age. Not on the outside - I have little choice about that and am coming to terms with veiny hands and neck wrinkles like the skin of a T Rex - but on the inside, where it counts. After all that's the only part I can control. Like when … Continue reading How to Age and the Joy of Nasal Flushing
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