Author Archives: susanmsink@gmail.com

Stability

Last night I went to the 50th Anniversary event for The Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Saint John’s Abbey. It made me think about the Benedictine virtue of Stability. The room was full of wonderful people, many of whom … Continue reading

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Hard vs. Impossible

This spring is hard. But last spring during chemo was impossible. I’m always overwhelmed in the spring, although the self-talk helps me realize it is early and I can take it bed-by-bed until the garden is planted. Right now it’s … Continue reading

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First Signs of Plug Life

Prairie plants are not at all like vegetables. Vegetables need so much care and are so varied in the way they prefer to grow. Just ask my pepper and tomato plants, newly transplanted but brought back inside for one last … Continue reading

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micros and babies

On April 8, we ate our first salad of baby arugula from the greenhouse. I was planning on keeping it growing until Easter, but you have to cut it when it’s ready– arugula especially will get sharp. With some luck … Continue reading

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Poetry Month

I’ve been writing a lot of poems lately. Cowbird.com went over to a static site, so there is no more posting “new stories” there. I have moved with a lot of other Cowbird writers over to Medium.com. You can find … Continue reading

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Chickens 2.0

March is an odd month. As it draws to a close, there are signs of new life and new horizons everywhere on the farm. It occurred to me yesterday that– “Hey, I didn’t go back to work!” I had meant … Continue reading

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On Time… More

I just finished reading Elizabeth Alexander’s wonderful memoir The Light of the World. Most people know Alexander as the poet who wrote/read the poem “Praise Song for the Day” at President Obama’s 2009 inauguration. I met Elizabeth only briefly, through the poet Kevin Young, when she … Continue reading

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Slow Down

Am I still a blogger? It has been what, three weeks? More? In that time we’ve taken a trip to New York. I was determined to start looking for work on March 1, but instead work came to me, with … Continue reading

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One Year Ago…

Facebook let me know that today was a big anniversary: one year from the official diagnosis. I decided to go back and read some of those early entries in the blog. The entries interested me much less than the comments … Continue reading

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“Margaret” by Kenneth Lonergan

Thursday night I was walking with my parents on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. A woman walking behind us wearing a fake fur and with very, very blond hair, was talking in a normal voice on her phone, and we heard … Continue reading

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