Dorothea Deley Living on the Western Slope of Colorado, I’ve learned to mark the passage of time by what produce is available when.
Tender asparagus in the spring. Cherries in mid-summer. Sweet corn in late summer. Apples in the fall . . . . that sort of thing.
Granted, not much grows here in the winter! But even that season has its own hallmark — when the kitchen fills with the nutty warmth of baking acorn squash or simmering butternut squash soup, I know it’s winter.
Fifteen years ago I had the great pleasure of leading a team of idealistic young AmeriCorps members in San Luis Obispo, California. We taught environmental education to middle and high school students, mostly through service projects, in-class presentations, and after-school clubs. Whenever we lost our way — which was often because we worked with TEENAGERS! … Read More
Ever since I was a little girl, my family would take an annual vacation to the California coast where relatives owned a beach house. One of my favorite all-time memories happened during one of those trips, not long after Mike and I got together. We were out in the ocean boogie boarding. I was riding … Read More
What does it mean to leave the place you’ve lived longer than anywhere else?
It means you’re leaving HOME.
But . . .
What does it mean to move back to the place where your parents and sister live, where you went to high school?
It means you’re returning HOME.
My father served in the Army for two decades. We moved every few years, from Pueblo, Colorado => Augusta, Georgia => a Marshall Island in the Pacific => Glendale, Arizona => Salt Lake City => Baumholder and Fulda in Germany => Manhattan, Kansas => Las Vegas.
As an adult, I couldn’t shake the moving bug. I attended college in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and then moved to Boulder to Denver and back to Boulder again where I met Mike. We moved to Denver together, and then San Luis Obispo and Santa Margarita in California. Then off we went to Cerro, New Mexico, and most recently to Paonia, where we’ve lived for the past eight years.
I have never lived anywhere for eight years! So of course Paonia feels like home. I was born in Pueblo, and always had an affinity for Colorado. When Mike and I left New Mexico and came back to Colorado, it truly felt like coming home. I thought I’d be here forever . . . .
But life is funny.
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, David and Goliath, makes the case that successful innovators and entrepreneurs often experienced childhood losses or traumas. Dr. Emil “Jay” Freireich, inventor of modern chemo treatments for cancer, and President Barack Obama both lost their fathers at a young age. Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn and billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson are both … Read More
Ten years ago, my partner, Mike, and I traveled to Washington, D.C., for the largest march in American history. But you probably never even heard about it. More than 1 million women and men marched on the Capitol in support of women’s reproductive rights April 25, 2004. I wanted to share the story I published … Read More
(photo by Mike Maxwell)
This is a painful and somewhat embarrassing question to answer.
Here’s what I came up with . . . My shame allows me to:
Looking at this list makes me uncomfortable. How can it be? I like seeing myself as a strong and capable woman, not a fragile and frightened little girl!
But in my heart I know staying in my comfort zone means I don’t have to take a stand — for myself, for others, for love. If I’m shamed back into my little corner, I can bypass doing my inner work. I can give in unchallenged to my defeating beliefs that I am lazy and worthless. That I am broken beyond repair.
Ultimately, I can avoid taking responsibility for myself and my life.
Which is pretty fucking ironic considering I am the FOUNDER of the Church of Personal RESPONSIBILITY!
We’re excited to announce a special performance of our show at Colorado Mesa University! Come out to laugh and show your support for secular students in Grand Junction. “We’ve been looking for unique events to bring to campus in order to bring awareness to our organization,” said Ashlee Bingham, CMU student and member of the … Read More
Having faith in humanity is harder on some days than others. Like today. Walking up the sidewalk to my house, I noticed someone had cut the little bunch of tulips growing by my front porch. WTF? Obviously people do far worse to each other than steal their flowers. But even something as small as this … Read More
I have this idea. We’re all running around acting like we’re oh-so-grown up, when in reality we’re just little children trying to get by in a scary world. We go about our day-to-day lives, interacting with each other, disparaging those who bother us and snipping at those we love when tensions run high. What if … Read More