Suburban Shalom

seeking peace and purpose from my little neck of the suburbs

Conversations and contentment

I have a habit of getting into conversations with strangers in random places. Last weekend we were out of town at a hotel with an indoor water park. I was in the restroom with one of the girls when we struck up a conversation with a housekeeping employee cleaning the facilities. She noticed my … [Read more...]

Sleepless in suburbia

We've not been getting much sleep around here lately. The 1st Grader has been sick with sinus congestion and a low-grade fever for a week now. For the past several nights the Spouse and I have taken turns helping her blow her nose and checking on her rapid breathing at different intervals. I'm … [Read more...]

Black suit friendship

I've been using some of the extra time indoors on these cold and dreary days to go through closets, pantries, and drawers and purge sweaters with holes, soups that have expired, and pens that have dried up. With all the Marie Kondo hype and it being the start of a new year, January feels like a good … [Read more...]

Hello from January

I love how January always feels like the first page of a new journal. Of course there are circumstances and outcomes we can't control, but we at least have the opportunity to write new lines and craft some new stories. Maybe it stems from perfectionism or an underlying fear of failure, but I have … [Read more...]