Searing Pain

With searing pain, eyes teary, my knotted calf screamed out in pain. At the aikido dojo, practicing a move on my knees, I persisted in sitting back on my haunches not being up on my toes, something all aikido students know as essential for the hamni hantachi move. ...

Surprised by the Turtlehead

This past Sunday was sunny,  a windy warm 76°, nearly 20° higher than normal for April in the Midwest.  I was itching to get outside, to check out the blooming crocuses on the parkway. Winter had seemed so long this year; like so many, I, too, was ready for this...

Laughter, Play & Imagination

We heard the shrieking from upstairs. Shrieks of glee, shrieks of possibility, shrieks that caught our attention. Soon they were running downstairs, these two young girls, 10 and 11, dressed-up for the evening, eyebrows heavy with makeup, smiles wide. It was New...