nellskac

A lesson

As the golden sun rose I rode my bike late to church, standing on the pedals for speed and focus. A large truck redirected my normal route so I passed a road I usually don’t bike, and noticed a house set back from the street. Large, dark, and the windows were all broken, unusual inContinueContinue reading “A lesson”

Sometimes I feel like God is as far away as the cross on the top of the tower at my church, which is to say: 100 feet away, against the sky, me standing with both feet on the ground. Hello, I cannot fly. But I can sing you a song I once learned, from downContinueContinue reading

There are still flowers

I saw the chicory on the side of the road, growing out of a forgotten/ broken/ rusted corner of Detroit, and I gasped like: I didn’t think they’d come back. But they did. Why was I surprised? The faded blue earned through long days of streaming sunlight. Hello, hello. I showed him: look, the chicoryContinueContinue reading “There are still flowers”

The Family, a Cathedral

I was asked to give a reflection about faith and family at my parent’s church, for Lent. It’s not Lent, but, I did finish writing this (I have a few deadlines faaaast approaching. Enjoy!) ****** This is the story of my mother, and my mother’s grandmother, and also my mother’s granddaughter, generations of faith. WhichContinueContinue reading “The Family, a Cathedral”

Requiem

Franklin, my guinea pig, died this weekend. It was a quick decline. Two weekends back he was in the vet to get his nails trimmed. I told them he was being picky about eating *only* his favorite foods, but we didn’t worry about it. One weekend ago, I picked him up to clean his cage,ContinueContinue reading “Requiem”

End of the saddle-conclusion

More reflections from 2018 ahead! Questions from here Previous answers here and here 26. What awesome new habits did you adopt? I try to pray a rosary on my way into work, and not to listen to trashy radio. Can’t say I’m perfect at this, though. I will say! It is helpful for me toContinueContinue reading “End of the saddle-conclusion”

Back in the saddle CONTINUED

More reflections from 2018 ahead! Questions from here Previous answers here 16. What was your biggest disappointment? I went on a reallllll lousy date. Does that count? I had high expectations, but was instead treated like an after-thought. ‘Tis unfortunate but true. Then I re-enacted the aforementioned event to my girlfriends, dramatically, until they laughedContinueContinue reading “Back in the saddle CONTINUED”

Back in the saddle – 2019

Oh, hello. I left off in Chicago. I suppose, in some way, fitting, then, that I should pick this back up on a trip to Chicago. Somehow, solo travel is a bit of a balm. I’m sitting on a Greyhound bus, riding through a snowstorm, deciding, after not one but two naps, and a rosary,ContinueContinue reading “Back in the saddle – 2019”

OKAY REAL TALK

I once read an article about this first-time mom who delivered her first child, which is totally awesome and everything. She also packed her going-home bag, which is important, obviously, and in it she packed: her pre-pregnancy jeans. She kind of just expected for things to “go back to normal,” you know? Like, okay, babyContinueContinue reading “OKAY REAL TALK”

injured lil nail

Weeks and weeks ago I injured my nail bed. Today, I can’t recall what happened–where I was, what I was wearing, the actual nature of the injury–all I have is the flash of pain, a brief memory in my grey matter. But my nail remembers. A week or so the point of pain on theContinueContinue reading “injured lil nail”