story-telling

Amelie is a Riot of Color, Quirkiness and Fun

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By Cecilia Winegar A riot of color, quirkiness, and pure fun, “Amelie” was the perfect escape. Starring Phillipa Soo, the show tells the story of a young woman who seeks to better the lives of others, and makes a discovery about her own life in the process. The show is absolutely beautiful, certainly one of […]

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Under An African Sky

It has been too long since I’ve been under an African sky. More than 25 years have passed since last I breathed in this amazing continent. I left her with South Africa still under apartheid, AIDS unheard of and the Mozambican civil war endlessly raging.   Most of us think we know the narrative of […]

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Four Birth Stories and a Voice for Every Mother Counts

I’ve had four opportunities to test my body’s limits and be the co-creator of new life. Four chances to bring a child into the world, four first breaths, four beginnings. With each birth, I learned more about what I was capable of, and with each birth, I found power, courage and voice. My eldest child, […]

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5 Reasons I Love My Husband, Even in the Moments When I Forget

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It is a truth universally acknowledged* that marriage isn’t easy. I’ve never met a perfect person, and therefore I’ve never encountered a perfect union (neither human nor country). I could storm and rage and tell stories and give you a litany of imperfections in my own marriage. Beloved and I, we’re flawed and human. We […]

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How Protest Songs Have Moved Us to Agitate for Change in the World

The world of film and music has always been a part of the fabric of social change. It has the power to move us, challenge us and change us. In the 1960s and 1970s, a South African man, Steve Biko, was a vocal advocate of non-violent protest as a means to ending racial division in […]

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How to Make Your Family More Resilient

In the 48 hours from our pre-wedding dinner with our families to arrival at the honeymoon destination, a series of unfortunate events that in my twenties I would have considered unmitigated disasters, were in my thirties great fodder for future family story-telling. As we went through the list with our kids over a wedding anniversary […]

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Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

We went to see the kindest, most gentle Santa I’ve ever met yesterday. He looked entirely the part. Every detail of his suit as it should be. A real bushy white beard and bright ruddy complexion. But he also felt the part. His spirit emanated love and all that Father Christmas in his purest form […]

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Tweens Praying Over the Spaghetti

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I’m in the land of tweens and I have no idea what I’m doing. Mean girls are everywhere. There’s lots of signs I’m doing this all wrong (me, not her). But every now and then there is a moment, and it changes everything. You can mentally allow yourself to fast forward to a future global […]

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Big Important Things I Am Grateful For, Including You

Possibly my very favorite thing about living in America is Thanksgiving. I may never understand sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, but that aside, it’s a wonderful day. Now I know the politics of pilgrims and Native Americans aren’t straight forward and that part of what this day represents is anchored in history we don’t like […]

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Of Miracles and Details

I am seeking a long list of miracles. My prayers are filled with pleas for friends and family members with severely ill children, marriages I deeply care about unraveling, rebellious kids making life-damaging decisions, parents aching with worry and grief, loved ones dealing with addiction, lost jobs and struggling businesses, mental illness and an abundance […]

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