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If February Doesn’t March, April May
Springtime lessons from my favorite nonsense quote. I have a friend who is rapturously joyful at the first bug of spring. I about drove off the road once trying to ascertain her sudden gasp until she finally sputtered, “It’s a bug! It’s the first bug of spring!” To me, this foretells mosquitos, biting flies, no-see-ums,…
Easter Vigil When You Don’t Feel Like Celebrating
“It’s a celebration!” “For some,” I wanted to say. But I didn’t want to be seen as a downer or as though I didn’t appreciate the significance of this special day. I merely tried to smile, and nodded, and walked on. If you’re someone who also struggled to reflect the joy of Easter this year,…
Seven Minutes of Stillness
A few weeks ago I entered a yoga class after a several year hiatus. This was not the death by planks class of my foolhardy younger years, but a softer, just-enough-to-feel-good variety. As the instructor welcomed us onto our mats, welcomed us to notice our breath, welcomed us into a place of stillness and ease,…
So You Think You’re Tough?
I like to think I’m tough. Here’s how I know I’m not. The other day I was re-reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy. I love reading about these hardy pioneers. I mostly love to read about them while sipping tea in my fuzzy slippers. Now these folks were tough. Back then, it got so cold…
Percussive Boom
Add this to the list of weird things that have happened to me. I was running my dog outside before a work-from-home meeting (that part is not unusual), when my shoes crunched across something unexpected in the driveway. Glass. Thick brown shards of it extending from my puppy’s poo pail across the width of my…
Making Do
I come from a long line of thrifty innovators. The kind that take great pride in sayings like: Use it up,wear it out,make it door do without! So it surprised no one when the need arose for me to put my thrifty innovation to good use. I had recently been coerced by a friend to…
Hidden Thankfulness
Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I’d like to thank all the people I never thanked. This could be a sweeping generality: family, friends, first responders, the lady cleaning the bathroom at the gas station where I stopped for gas. But, I have something more specific in mind. I’m thinking…
What Are You Wrestling For? (You may need to change it.)
I’ve been wrestling with the deep and the hard these last few years. God knows it. I know it. The bell sounds and we go another round. I think of Jacob wrestling all night long and I think, wow, what a relief that would be if this only lasted one night. But I am persistent.…
Life is Weird. (Leadership Lessons from Ecclesiastes)
Every once in a while, I need a good dose of Ecclesiastes. I like to remind myself that the purported wisest man in the world, the one about whom the Queen of Sheba said, “you have far exceeded the report I heard,” and the one about whom God himself said “I will give you a…
Time Wasted. (Learning Peace When Plans Derail.)
I’ve bet you’ve had a day like this too… and maybe it wasn’t wasted after all.
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Meet Janet!
Janet Beagle, PhD is the founder of The Mustard Patch. She divides her time between the Midwest and New England, and if she’s not writing, she’s probably out hiking with her 2-and 4-footed friends.