Taryn R. Hutchison's Blog: The Glorious Muddle, page 29

Learning Gratitude

Every Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, I receive email greetings from friends faraway who are thinking of me. That may not sound odd to you, but these friends are not Americans. They are Romanians. They write things such as “May God bless America so you will continue to be a blessing to the world.” They [...]

Heritage

This week as Americans, we reflect on the legacy left for us by our founding fathers in establishing our nation under God – subservient to God’s authority – and acknowledging His laws by making them our own. The unprecedented freedom we’ve benefited from for two-and-a-half centuries has come at great cost. Today, however, my thoughts turn to [...]

One (almost) Down, Eleven to Go?

This summer has been an experiment for me. I knew I needed to have a plan to avoid repeating last summer, with its days that inched along, slow minute by slower minute, on a campus devoid of its purpose and vitality – its students. To have something, anything, to do last year, I had volunteered [...]

Malaprops

I love malaprops – both the bookstore in Asheville and the backward sayings. As to the bookstore, I’ll be doing a public reading there on Sunday, along with the other students in my writing class. I’m thrilled; Malaprop’s is an iconic store in a city of writers. In checking out their website, I found something else that’s [...]

The Value of Men

Sunday is Father’s Day. While the advertising isn’t as over-the-top and guilt-producing as it is for Mother’s Day, surely you’re aware of it fast approaching. Yesterday, I heard a disturbing statistic on the radio. In fact, it made me angry, so angry that I researched it when I got home. I found it in an [...]

My Life, so far, as a Drama Queen

If you’ve noticed that no new blog posts have been forthcoming from me this week, you’re right. (And, by the way, thanks for noticing!) I have been a bit overwhelmed with my new graduate student status. But overwhelmed in a good way. The last time I posted was the day before my first class. Tonight [...]

Closed Door, Open World

Today I planned to tell you about my free Spanish class (a wonderful benefit of working at a university) that begins tomorrow. I prepared to describe the huge emotional barrier I’d vaulted over, finally becoming willing to take this step. My fear that another Romance language would erase the long-strived-for and cherished Romanian words from my conscious mind [...]

Making the Most of Summer

Nothing is more desolate than a college campus in summertime. Some of my colleagues relish the time to catch their breath, but for me, the workload doesn’t just  s l o w  down, it seems to screech to a halt. The heart and vitality, the students, are painfully absent. And yet, I can live vicariously through the reports [...]

Loving Laugh

Life is funny. Life makes me laugh. Or as they pronounce it here in the South, “Laugh makes me laugh.” Steve and I had this conversation on the ride home from a community group recently: Steve:  What did she mean “laugh is hard?” Me:  I think that’s “life is hard.” Just the other day, my friendly [...]

A Raw Nerve Exposed

At the risk of being labeled as an Anti-Mother’s Day Crusader, I decided to speak up in my last post and shed light on something that I believe is a blind spot. But today I want to set the record straight. I don’t hate Mother’s Day. And I don’t want my mother to be known [...]