He was about to leave. He did his Sunday morning four-point check: keys, glasses, sermon, vestments. Then he walked toward me but stopped short. “Oh yeah. I can’t kiss you. You’re sick.” “Yep. Sorry.” We stood there for the blink of a moment, facing each other, the disappointment that we could not close the gapContinue reading “Rituals that Form Us”
Category Archives: Americans in Holland
Sometimes there Are Gifts
Bluesky is one of the few remaining social media platforms I allow myself to scroll through late at night. I feel comfortable there because it tends to lean left, and the voices of resistance I encounter resonate with me. I am still confronted with awful news about the latest Trump 2.0 attacks on freedom ofContinue reading “Sometimes there Are Gifts”
2025 Resolutions
Years ago, we brought in the New Year in The Hague with Andries and Henny, my mother- and father-in-law. When I shared my excitement about making New Year’s resolutions, Henny told me she found the whole concept of resolutions childish. It was a tough moment for me. I had the utmost respect for Henny, butContinue reading “2025 Resolutions”
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it? Propinquity. Because it was a new word to me. That, and naturopathic anti-itch medicine for my itchy Beagle.
The Beagle that Binds
Last night, my teenager returned from his new, part-time restaurant job just after I’d finished a tearjerker of a movie. “How was your shift?” I asked, trying to stifle a yawn. “It was all right. Hey, want to watch Lost with me?”I hesitated. My body said no. I had been yawning for a while now, a clearContinue reading “The Beagle that Binds”
This Little Heart of Mine
Last week, I had an echocardiogram. This is a type of ultrasound scan used to look at the heart and surrounding blood vessels. As I lay on the hospital bed, the cardiac sonographer (the person who does the heart echo) ran a gel-covered wand over the left side of my chest. And like magic, aContinue reading “This Little Heart of Mine”
Jan K.
I’m sick of playing hide and seek with the Dutch sun. It’s supposedly “morning time,” but the sun isn’t holding up its end of the bargain. Instead of shining gloriously through the windows, it’s secreting away behind a thick wall of dark gray clouds, biding its time. Days go by like this. I walk theContinue reading “Jan K.”
Eighteen kilometers at Night
If someone asked you if you wanted to walk eighteen-plus kilometers in the dark through wind, hail, and rain, and warned that you wouldn’t be finished walking until close to one o’clock in the morning, what would be your response out of the options provided below? A. You’re joking, right?B. No thanks, but good luckContinue reading “Eighteen kilometers at Night”
Retreating into Silence
Happy 2024 everyone. I’m not sure what your end of year looked like, but whatever was on your calendar, I’m betting it was probably as busy as mine: wrapping up work deadlines, planning recipes, buying gifts, holiday get togethers with friends, Christmas services, extended family coming for Christmas dinner followed by a Christmas brunch the nextContinue reading “Retreating into Silence”
2023! Where Did You Go?
When our son was just a wee thing, older parents would come up to me with a mix of nostalgia and wisdom on their faces, and say: “Enjoy this phase. It will never come again.” “Time will fly by! Hold onto these precious moments.” “He will grow up before you can even wink!” These sortsContinue reading “2023! Where Did You Go?”
kristininholland 