Linda Gray Sexton
Spring 1972. My freshman year at Harvard. I was walking through “The Square,” where the street was filled with students still dressed in the tie-dye that the ’60’s made fashionable. Young men and women moved in circles, holding placards for their current protest; SDS was passé–nevertheless this protest would shortly have its leaders pounding on…
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My husband retired last Friday and I am worried. While I celebrate his freedom from a job of which he was truly tired, I am also concerned about what he will now do with his time, as well as the loss of his income. How will the family budget survive? How will he survive psychologically? …
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For the last ten years, I have been steeped in sadness–and without hope–for my older son, who is a heroin addict. Last year, he overdosed four times on Fentanyl and went into cardiac arrest, barely being resuscitated in the emergency room after his heart ceased to beat. Still, even these close calls did not stop…
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I’m happy, once in a while, to send you a poem I find meaningful. The sonnet below is intended to help us look at the inner “fires” of winter. Written by a poet who was friends with Emily Dickinson, it displays obvious similarities to the latter’s work. If you haven’t read anything by either of…
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I used to call these pesky ideas now running around in my head New Year’s “resolutions.” However, it seems there’s a better word for the goals we set when the calendar flips to January 1st. The writer and psychologist Diana Raab, whom I am lucky enough to count among my friends, has suggested that the…
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It’s that time of year: you are stumped for a gift. What to give Mom, Dad, your sister, your brother, a friend, or even your kids. A book makes a great present; below are several of my recommendations for those I’ve been wild over in the last month. Give one to yourself, or give it…
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What a joyous holiday our family had this Thanksgiving just past–four full days of wonder. Here is my little grandson, who sat at Nana’s holiday table for the first time, built trucks and trains and Duplo houses with me, went hand-in-hand to the playground, and drifted off to his parents singing my childhood lullaby. And now onward, into…
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The words of the following two people have resounded throughout the years, and these quotations seem particularly appropriate at this time of thanksgiving–when we should be mindful of more than pumpkin pie. May you mull them over now, and next week, as you join hands around the table with your family and friends. Have a…
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Hey there, it’s Halloween! Pumpkins and skeletons and spider webs on the stoop. Candy bars and Smarties in a big bowl. Tricks and treats and pranks. Little kids greet this day with anticipation, much laughter, and a genuine sense of celebration. I enjoy answering the door to see their carefully constructed costumes, especially those that…
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Here is my favorite poem of all time–particularly apt at this time of year, as autumn takes over our world. It uses an incredible metaphor that speaks to living your life with authenticity. God bless you, Mary Oliver. Yours,
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