Leaving well

I loathe the packing process. I don’t know if it’s because the last ten years of my life have been spent packing and unpacking with brief spurts of stability in between, or if it’s simply because packing forces me to be organized and think ahead (bleh). The whole process becomes a giant puzzle that doesn’t […]

Finding my way

Sometimes I wonder if I missed my calling in life. What was I really supposed to be when I grew up? A writer? A dog trainer? Working my way through the ranks of a therapeutic horseback riding stable? A teacher (eek!)? If I opened the door of unchosen professions wider, we’d start seeing wisps of […]

Cultural hang-ups

Traditional clothing seen on the Rai Coast It’s interesting to me how the western world feels the need to put clothes on naked village children. We have this mindset that all children need to wear clothes because that’s obviously appropriate; naked children running around in the world makes us feel sad and is kind of […]

How PNG saved future teens… from me

The air was hot and sticky, just like I was used to it being during summers in the Piedmont of North Carolina. I remember being completely worn out and just a little bit terrified as I walked from the plane to the terminal. I had flown from Los Angeles to New Zealand to Australia, finally […]