MUSINGS ON LIFE AND WRITING WITH SARAH BUCKLEITNER
When I was growing up, I loved to ask my parents questions about their lives. I was curious about everything: how they'd met. What adventures they'd gone on before we were born. If they knew they'd get married the first time they laid eyes on each other. Mostly, I was fascinated by their stories. But … Continue reading On the best day of my life
Right now I’m sitting at our kitchen table, and a baby is sitting on my lap, strapped to my chest by a carrier. He’s warm and soft and solid all at once, and his wispy hair tickles my chin--distracting me--as I type. We’ve been parents for over a month now, and I’m still trying to … Continue reading On Parenthood
In our busy, modern lives, there isn’t much space for our brains to function free from stimulus. There’s constantly something: a text conversation with a friend who lives across the country, a quick perusal of Instagram, a podcast we’re listening to, a book that we’ve just picked up. Dinner to be made, dishes to be … Continue reading On Training Your Brain
When I was a kid, I used to play at being an adult (as most kids do). My friends and I set up imaginary grocery stores where we’d pretend to check items out. We’d dress up like doctors and nurses. We’d chide our “disobedient children” as we pulled sweaters over our dolls’ heads. And we’d … Continue reading On Adulthood
There is a series of events each morning that can usually set my day up to be a good one. They include getting up with my alarm, having time for tea and coffee with Jordan, and not having to rush around like a mad woman. However, our actual mornings only go that way about half … Continue reading On Routine
You know those mornings when you wake up before the alarm, and the windows are still cloaked in cool nighttime colors? This is one of those mornings. Yesterday was almost one--I woke up before my alarm, but then I succumbed to exhaustion and closed my eyes again. That's the fatal mistake. It sets you up … Continue reading Gratitude and un-Gratitude: August
Working at a humane society, I often come across the notion that a large dog can’t live in a small apartment. “Oh, we certainly don’t have room for a dog that size,” the person will say, eyes roving disapprovingly over a Labrador mix of medium stature. Having personally housed a 90 lb Great Dane/Labrador/husky mix … Continue reading On Large Dogs in Small Apartments
Right now I’m sitting on the couch with the window flung wide open, listening to the symphony of frogs that has congregated outside. It’s been unseasonably wet and warm. In the span of a week, we went from frozen soil and brown, withered plants to green unfurling everywhere. And best of all are the spring … Continue reading On Luck and Loss
I am sad. It pours out of me in gasps and chokes, a geyser of emotion too strong to stopper up. Each year it lies in wait. Quiet, tame. Masked by boredom with the details, the mundanity of every day life. And then, as his tires crunch gravel outside the window, and the door closes solidly … Continue reading On Goodbyes
Alone. It's a weighty concept, one packed with loneliness and independence and freedom. It means handling problems that arise all by yourself. Bearing life's weight on your own back. But with that independence comes freedom from another person's opinions and needs. It means living your life exactly the way you want to live it, unrestrained … Continue reading The Merits of Being Alone
Feathery Thoughts 