Gaston, South Carolina. Train tracks. A grocery store. A Wendy’s. And a re-entry camp for worldwide MKs on the shores of a small, tree-surrounded lake. I wasn’t sure I’d survive the heat. I wasn’t sure I’d be welcomed, arriving a couple days after the opening festivities. And I wasn’t sure the “rustic” surroundings would meet […]
Twelve years ago. In my other home town of Riedlingen, Germany. I have a confession to make: After years and years of loudly and stubbornly proclaiming that jogging is unquestionably of the devil, and after many a lame excuse uttered to sports teachers in order to wiggle out of participation in any strenuous physical […]
[In this post: introduction to the stages of grief, how grief is commonly manifested in displaced MKs, how you can help them to find healing.] Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Heard of her? If you ever took Psych 101, you’ve probably been introduced to her work, but who remembers anything from those 101 college classes? The guys on […]
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 […]