"I buried the bone in my backyard, under the Japanese maple tree, as Puma told me to. I would have thought the offering should be left in the wilderness, in the high places, close to the mountain gods. But no, under this tree in our tiny yard, the dense weave of city life just beyond the fence. When I listened, I heard: that was what Puma wanted."My mentor Deena Metzger said: Spirit wanted you to be the woman who would bury a bone in your yard. We were talking about how to balance multiple realities - how to be a writer in conversation with spirit, Muse, character, however you want to refer to the mysterious sources of story, and then go to Trader Joe's. Because I'm a mom, so there's a lot of food shopping. And telling small people Hurry up and put your shoes on, we are leaving right this minute. Mundane, everyday life pressed ... more
inspiration
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Trying on handwoven ponchos, Peru, July 2016 A year ago, I published this essay that centered around a bone I buried in my yard, on direction from my character, shall we say. It was an offering, old-school: -
Rebecca - - 2 responsesWeaving workshop, October 2014 The main character in my novel is a weaver. This is not surprising, since weaving in the Andes used to be an integral activity. One needs clothing, after all. Thankfully weaving traditions are still alive, though they've taken a huge hit in the modern world. In places traditional backstrap loom weaving is being rejuvenated through the hard work of organizations and individuals. When we lived in Peru, we were great appreciators of weaving, and amateur collectors, but I never attempted to learn. People tried to explain backstrap loom weaving to me, but ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesNew bookshelf by my desk: journal, books as reminders, books for the future, and a tortoise If I were going to teach a MFA class, it would be "How to keep being a writer once you're no longer in grad school and no one is keeping tabs on your writing anymore." Seriously, why is there not a class like this? It should be mandatory in the last semester of all MFA programs. The send-off should be "Now we've taught you what we can, we've given you deadlines and feedback, and we're ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesI turned 40 on January 5. When your birthday coincides with a new year, you get to think of your own evolution and the year's in the same breath. I'm not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions, but I do like to use the turning point of a new year to take a step back and think about where I'm going, and how I'm getting there. We were in San Diego, as we luckily often are for the holidays. Mikhail and I took our customary walk on the beach. ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesBoys in redwood roots, Big Basin, September 2015 This is the first year I have taken Elan with me to Yom Kippur day services by choice. I decided he's old enough to come with me, and for me to still be able to pay attention and get something out of the service. He wore shorts and crocs, and we went (him by scooter, me walking) to the "super-reform" service held outdoors alongside the playground at the JCC. But even during the times that he took a break from listening by swinging ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesOne of my favorite spots in New Jersey, July 2015 In many things, I am a perfectionist. I try to tell myself “good enough is good enough,” but it’s often hard for me to believe it. However, there is one place in my life where striving for mediocrity is just right for me, and that is meditation. There has only been one period of my life when I meditated regularly, and I always did it badly. In fact, I remember only two sessions of meditation that felt anywhere close to transcendent. ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesLego creation, April 2015 What on earth have I been up to? Oh, yeah, that writing a book raising a family doing work in the world cooking cleaning laundry juggling act called life. I have a lot I could say. Sometimes having a lot to say equals not saying anything. Circuits get overfull, or something like that. And so, a poem for you. "Advice to Myself" by Louise Erdrich, via The Writer's Almanac Leave the dishes. Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor. Leave the black ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesThis year, we went for verbs. Embrace Grow Thrive I think "grow" and "thrive" are pretty self-explanatory. My short-hand for what “embrace” means in this context is “embrace the chaos.” Of course, that doesn’t necessarily sound that inspiring. Chaos sounds messy, out of control. Who wants to admit their life feels like that? But maybe it would be helpful to me if I did not just admit there is chaos, but really embrace the messiness of life, at least this phase of it. *** Say hi! To leave a comment, click here & scroll down. -
Rebecca - - No responsesOne year ago, I started writing daily on my book. I heard about National Novel Writing Month, and even though I knew that there was no way I’d make it to 50,000 words in a month, even if I wasn’t starting a week late, I decided “Why not?” I had done enough work reimagining the book at this point. Now I needed to dive in and write it. Of course, I had already written it. I had two complete drafts, written over three years, plus another draft half-way through that ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesOrr Hot Springs, November 2013 As soon as I became a mother, I starting hearing advice that I needed to be sure to take “Me Time.” Bleary-eyed with milky exhaustion, occupied 24/7 with learning how to care for a newborn, I nodded at what sounded like wisdom, but I didn’t really know what it meant. Personally, I hate the phrase “Me Time.” It sounds so upper class, so privileged, so optional. For me, the phrase summons up the image of a perfectly coifed woman getting a mani-pedi while reading a magazine. Over ... more -
Rebecca - - No responsesWords for 2014: Intention Play & Wild spirit For the fifth year in a row, Mikhail and I picked words for the year. Having done this now multiple years, I notice the trend. When we pick the words, we have a general sense of being inspired by those words, but we have no idea how they'll play out. Then the year starts, and they tend to feel foreign to me for the first month or two, like I'm just trying them out. By March or so, I start to think of them as touchstones ... more
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