Kentucky Summer 2014

My grandparents home in KY is one of my favorite places in the whole world. Even without my grandmother, Kentucky still feels more “home” to me than where I actually grew up in New York. I miss it pretty much all the time. A few articles have popped up on my newsfeed about Kentucky, starting with the inflammatory “What’s the matter with Eastern KY” article published in the NYTimes last year to a more recent ViceNews “Two Days in Appalachia” that I found downright exploitative. Unfortunately there is a very real struggle with drugs and poverty, and it only seems to be getting worse. But however cliche this …

Comforting Love: Mom and Sister Visit California

There is so much I want to do and so much that needs to be done. In the spring, it seems the dream of who I want to be runs ahead of me and I find myself bursting at my edges, wanting to jump out of my skin and catch up with her, me. But for the week that my mom and sister are here, I abandon all thoughts of not being enough and just pull my mom and sister close. Every moment with them feels tangible and focused yet free. I have two goals for the week: being with …

Summer fun and family!

Yesterday some of our family from Mount Vernon, Kentucky came to visit us. 🙂 It was too short a visit, but some of us did make it down to the lake for some swimming. I brought my camera, and have been thinking about why I like taking pictures so much. Because I don’t just like it, I love it. Although I wish I could volunteer and/or be-a-mama-for-children-who-have-no-where-else-to-go for the rest of my life, I am trying to think of ways to bring in resources and okay—yep, here’s the word I dread—money. Because, to do what I want to do (which …

This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein.

Right now I am in Burnside, Kentucky with my family visiting my grandparents. A few years ago, I counted up the weeks and months I had spent here as a child and came to the conclusion that it had to be at least two or three years. But, the times have changed. The long lazy summers of boating, water-skiing, tubing, VBS, southern cooking, and family and friends has been reduced to a short week of somewhat frenzied visits, and one or two fun-filled lake days. Because we are only here for a week this year, I put my computer and …