If you’re an Arkansan, chances are you recognize the picture. It’s one that makes most of us cringe and close our eyes in embarrassment. Not our finest moment in Arkansas history, and one we wish never happened. In 1954 the Supreme Court decided in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that segregation in…
Rainy Season and a Cloud of Witnesses
Rainy season. It’s that time of year in Thailand when I crank up the AC and curl up by the window with a book, cup of tea and a blanket and pretend that it’s winter. It’s an art of mental foolery. I see the clouds and listen to the rain. I invoke images of a…
We Live at the Circus
A friend and I lamented over coffee the other day about how we are cheating our kids a healthy, “normal” childhood by living in Bangkok. The lack of green space, fresh air, digging dirt, and the great outdoors–are we damaging them? After some thought and consideration, I’ve decided that we are actually living at the…
Euro Trip Part V: Rome
As far as big cities go, Rome may be the best. Travis and I couldn’t stop talking about it the entire trip. Rome has it all. The food, the weather, the mystery, the architecture, the history, the charm, the people, the soul. If I could pick one city to plant myself in, Rome might just…
Euro Trip Part IV: Lake Como, Italy
After a 6 hour train trip from Nice, France, we arrived in Como, Italy–the most scenically beautiful leg of our trip. Mother was singing The Hills are Alive and indeed they were. We stayed at another perfect AirBnB find that I’m pretty sure was owned by my childhood penpal, Paola, who’s sexy face was blown up…
Euro Trip Part III: Grasse + Monaco
This leg of the race was really part 2 1/2 out of 4 but worthy of its own little corner of the blogosphere. After so much researching of where to go in Europe and narrowing it down to 4 stops, we added this side trip in at the last minute, knowing it would be a…
Euro Trip Part 2: Bonnieux
People travel for different reasons. For rest, relaxation, education and exploration. For me, the best trips are the ones when we feel like a character in another world. We surprise ourselves when we live in a different environment, and it stretches who we are as a person. It’s the same reason why I love theatre so…
Euro Trip Part I: PARIS
I do realize I haven’t yet written about our current home: Bangkok. I will. Eventually. 🙂 It took the better part of a year, but we do love our life in Bangkok. Still, we needed an escape. I hate to complain at all- we do have a good quality of life here. But the never-ending heat,…
Love Anyway
Last night I dreamt that an adolescent boy broke into my apartment through my back door. At first I was afraid. What does he want? He ran to my bedroom and grabbed my guitar. Then sat on my floor, face aglow at this magical thing. My fears relaxed and his face morphed into that of…
She Came in Like a Wrecking Ball: The Birth Story of Magnolia Patton
How’s that for a title? I can’t believe my baby girl is over 6 months old and I’m just now writing this. As I mentioned before with Henry’s birth story, there’s something biologically altering in a woman’s memory that happens after she has a baby. Over time, the negative things are mostly forgotten and what’s…
