A Happy Christmas

It is the Feast of the Epiphany, and I’ve watched the sunrise—as I have almost every morning of this blessed season—beyond the sparkle and magic of my Christmas tree. I’ve seen the low-hung clouds turn lavender and then flush with gold, as if at some heavenly delight, and the old holly tree awaken, its branches…

Ordinary Time

Face my direction, I wanna to see you better, dear. You’re a distraction from everything that I feel. ~ “Turn to White” by She and Him   A week ago today, the spouse and I arrived at our getaway spot—a swanky hotel in the not-so-swanky city of Chattanooga. (Sometimes, the hotel is the destination.) Luke fetched a…

I’m So Not the Cool Kid

  Disclaimer: The following represents a cornucopia of experiences, some of them exaggerated for dramatic effect. A composite, if you will. Names have been omitted or changed to protect the guilty. Congratulations! I say this with a megaphone, ticker tape—with gusto! I feel like I need these things to get your attention. Because your high…

Seeds of Love

I wrote this piece two years ago, the first Christmas after my father died. Placing it here once more in the hope that it might be a source of comfort and kinship for those facing a difficult holiday this year… I am so sick of death. It’s been a year of bereavement. Even before Daddy…

Advent Speed Versus Christmas Speed (and the Case of the Yellow Ramekins)

There are two speeds: Advent-speed and Christmas-speed. I don’t know about you, but around mid-December the former fades. Thanks for the memories—fireside readings with the family, meditating about all that is to come, eight hours of sleep,  breathing… Nowadays, I am jacked up on Christmas. Which is kind of fun but also not so pretty….

Room for Joy

At times, the simplicity imposed upon us by both the house fire and our temporary living quarters feels like a gift brimming with meaning and grace. Stripped of all pretense and encumbrance, I really could not be better positioned to embrace the more penitential side of Advent, and this is a very good thing. But…

Greater Than

It is no-screen Sunday, and I am tired. Nevertheless, I cannot let the evening pass without wishing the Interwebs a most happy and blessed beginning to Advent. The first, brave purple taper shines! All in all, a good day at the Boggs household. Not perfect, mind you. Twas packed with church and chores and tree-twirling…

Happy—Michaelmas?

We have cool friends. Seriously. Friday night, two of them hosted a Michaelmas party. The spouse and I went—with bells on. The gathering was billed as “an evening of readings and song,” and so it was. Following a crazy-talented singer-songwriter, a number of English madrigals performed acapella, a historian, an autumnal sonnet by Lanier, and…

I Want It All

This past Sunday was All Saints’ Day, a day on the liturgical calendar that carries a certain mystique—and perhaps an air of ghostliness, especially for my Evangelical friends. Ever-accommodating to the every-Sunday-is-Resurrection-Sunday set—his congregation is smack dab in the heart of the South—our Anglican church pastor (dare I say priest?) explained how All Saints’ marks…

A Time to Embrace

Five years later, and I need to remember it all over again… November 14th, 2012 I’m sitting by my kitchen fire this chill November evening after a long day of almost monkish domesticity. I’ve been so industrious today that this welcome pause is almost too much: the warmth of the fire and the weariness of…

The End

The End