1985. My parents and I were taking the usual road home from an evening activity—the “road” was actually more of a one-lane, sinuous, potholed trail that lead over a hill and into the small farming village of Steinbrunn-le-Haut. Our old house was nestled there, deep inside the closed ranks of French landowners and a handful […]
Welcome to the brand spankin’ new look of www.michelephoenix.com! I hope you’ll find it easier to read and simple to navigate. Please make note of the new “subscribe” button on the right and the nifty search options to find previous blog posts (by keyword and by date). Why don’t you stay and look around for […]
For several years now, I’ve wondered what I’d say if someone asked me to speak at the graduation ceremony of a school for MKs. As I contemplated that question last June, I penned this rather unconventional address to an imaginary graduating class. In honor of BFA’s graduation day yesterday, I’m reposting it. Friends, colleagues, students […]
[Extra Normandy photos at the bottom of this post.] April 11, 2010. I wasn’t prepared for the sea of white crosses that spread across the horizon when I turned away from the desolate beauty of Normandy’s Omaha Beach and faced the American Cemetery where 9,387 white crosses and stars of David marked the graves of […]
Guiltitude. The syndrome is very real. It may not be universal, but I think it needs to be addressed. I don’t have the answer or the cure, though I do know I suffer from its symptoms. DEFINITION: Guiltitude [noun] Condition blending guilt and gratitude, attributed to a life dependent on charitable giving, and often characterized […]
Longing. Webster’s defines it as “a strong persistent yearning or desire, especially one that cannot be fulfilled.” As an MK, I would define it as “the warm taste of the past lingering on my tongue, the sweet sounds of yester-place ringing in my ear, the soft homeness of a lost universe whispering in my heart.” […]
… [Written the day after Mari Ellen passed away on Easter Sunday, 2012] I don’t know how to begin. I wish there were a word to describe the shift of a universe at the exit of a kindred soul. I just went diving into my paper-recycle bag, frantic to find the card I received […]
May I introduce you to a friend of mine? Eva is a beautiful young woman who grew up in Kyrgyzstan. When she was 9, her family moved to Germany, then made a major (and permanent) move to the States a year later. Today, Eva is a bright and vivacious 6th grader with a keen mind […]
I was having a lightning-fast lunch on the grass of Wheaton College’s quad last week when a friend reminded me about gratitude. It was a timely knock upside the head, as I’ve allowed the decisions I’m having to make these days to rob me of both serenity and sleep, and the gratitude that has so […]
There’s a French expression that doesn’t quite translate into English: “like a hair on soup.” You’re having coffee in Starbucks and enjoying the alone-time when someone you vaguely know intrudes on your peace and quiet…like a hair on soup. That’s the gist of it. One week ago, while on a short trip to visit […]