family
Family unites us; but it's also a challenge. All about fighting to stay together, and loving every moment of it.
Disrespect
Disrespect will close doors that apologies can't reopen. let that sink in. (Power of Motivation. Carlos Dominguez.) This quote is dear to me because it is so true. Many of us talk about being disrespected, but noone ever stops to think about the actions or the consequences beforehand. Disrespect will always close doors that apologies can't reopen, so once you disrespect me, you will see the results.
By Theresa Evans10 months ago in Humans
I Make My Latkes from Scratch
I make my Latkes from scratch. Rather, I make my Latkes from as close to scratch as any mere suburban-living human dares to get. I did not create the Heavens and the Earth to get the proper soil nor spark into existence the evolution necessary to create the DNA required to grow the proper variety of Russet Potatoes. I purchased the potatoes, the eggs and the matzo meal from the store. I have thought of raising my own chickens, but I am not sure my house is zoned for that. If I come across a potato that is beginning to sprout, I tend to set it aside with the intention to plant it. It never seems to happen, maybe next year.
By Penina Pohl10 months ago in Humans
Skiing: The Ritual of Winter
First tracks on a bit of fresh powder, a dusting of white still clinging to the trail-edging pine trees, the soft whirr of the chair lift, the quick shuuush of skis passing by as I stand and soak it all up. This is why I got up early, made the drive, hauled the equipment, bought the ski pass. I've been skiing most of my life, and I can't imagine not going through all of this bother, because the reward is so splendid. It just gets harder through the years.
By B.B. Potter10 months ago in Humans
The Christmas Tree Search
The smell of pine always reminds me of winter and brings back so many memories. Lately, my parents have stopped getting real Christmas trees. This season has been less enjoyable, too. I miss the adventure of finding the biggest, tallest tree that would fit in our house. I miss how the scent would fill every room. Picking out a tree was one of my favorite Christmas traditions since I was little, and I hope to do it again as an adult. Unfortunately, real trees became too expensive, so my parents switched to a fake one. Even so, I still wish for a real tree and that magical pine smell.
By Sarah Danaher10 months ago in Humans
Winter's Breath. Runner-Up in The Ritual of Winter Challenge.
You will do it a million times without giving it a moment of your time. Yet, in the winter things change, your exhale has life to it. You watch it disperse, often slowing down to change the shape of the air on exhalation. A simple, yet beautiful distraction during quiet moments. One so profound we notice our surroundings.
By Andrew Perry10 months ago in Humans
The Summoning of the Tree Spirit. Runner-Up in The Ritual of Winter Challenge. Top Story - December 2025.
Thank God for Christmas. And Hanukkah. And Yule. And probably a myriad of midwinter gatherings of light, food, and family I’ve never even heard of. Winter is tough, and most of us benefit from something to make it more bearable. Personally, I consider myself lucky to live in an era where frozen earth need not equate to a hungry belly, but even though I can gain eight hundred lumens of light at the flick of a switch, how much more pleasure is there in one hundred little five lumen bursts on a string? Or just fifteen in a candle’s steady glow?
By Hannah Moore10 months ago in Humans
“My Ice Castles Ritual”
**What made it a ritual Our visit to The Neuschwanstein Castle will forever be a memory held for me with my mother and my sister in law. I was visiting my brother and his family there in Kaiserslautern. That visit opened my eyes to see how good and spoiled we have it here in America. 🇺🇸 It also showed me how people were grateful for air and then life. We traveled very far. Through faithful prayers we could get anywhere. I give it to my father for his discipline driving there. I really was astonished and surprised about the door opening. Just the fact that I could travel there still brings spirit me overly joyed in astonishment. The story is true and I’m overly joyed. I walked there with my mother and another. I was so proud of myself. We had token the carriages up half way.We got half -way and rode the horse gliddales up half way inside the carriage that was the opposing cheap , safe , but fun. My parents are the best, once again. I was very much in love and felt like falling in love. What brought about that? The fact that 1️⃣ not everyone can make it up there safely. 2️⃣ not everyone can travel. Not everyone can come up and back down safely downward on a snowy hill. A lot really was going through my mind. I felt like a royal princess. Whose hidden prince had opened the door 🚪. I jumped in astonishment! It was really astonishing to me.
By Rachael Frazier10 months ago in Humans
