Segullah

Mormon women blogging about the peculiar and the treasured

They Should Not Contend

2 Nephi 26:32 And again, the Lord God hath commanded…that they should not contend one with another. My husband and I were raised in two different homes. That’s ridiculous, you say, we were all raised in different homes otherwise that would be kind of creepy. No, but really, on both philosophical and practical levels, our [...]

just be grandpa

He could have asked us to address Him by many titles: Creator of Heaven and Earth Almighty King Of Israel The Most High Lord Of Armies The Majesty The Lawgiver And Judge Sovereign or even Heavenly Husband And yet, He chose ‘Father.’

The Skin I’m In

There was a click, like bending a toothpick, then a sting as sharp as a cut green apple. I sat on the kwoon’s mat floor to look at my foot, where my left little toe was proclaiming nine o’clock while the other toes insisted twelve. Taking a shaky breath, I raised my hand. “’Scuse me, [...]

Dog Days of Winter

It’s been a long, dreary winter. February is creeping by, one snowy day blurring into another, and, after a couple of years of change and flux and shifting relationships, I’ve been feeling careworn and burdened on top of the usual winter malaise that often hits about this time. I turned fifty last fall and my [...]

On Questions

Things I dislike being asked: 1-Are you pregnant?

Hey, Everybody! Let’s Give It Up for…

Hey, everybody! Let’s give it up for… …Lent! Yes, this season of traditional Christendom will be upon us soon. March 9th is the first day this year, often called Ash Wednesday. Mormons generally don’t follow any kind of liturgical calendar, but it’s something valued I brought with me from my Protestant heritage. It’s the 40 [...]

Segullah Book Club Discussion: The Age of Innocence

Today we are discussing Edith Wharton’s classic novel The Age of Innocence. The novel, recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a woman, takes place in late 19th century New York City. The plot centers on the marriage of Newland Archer, a lawyer hailing from one of New York’s best families, and May Welland, [...]

What a girl wants

Sometimes, I want my life to be different. I want to be tan. I want to be a serious writer. Or a serious speech therapist. Or a serious something . I want conversations like, “What are you doing? Are you sticking a rubber-band up your nose? You ARE sticking a rubber-band up your nose! WHY [...]

Funny Girl

My sister is funny. The sort of funny that takes no thought–just flashes of quick wit that leave me giggling and wishing I could even think to say something like that. Whenever I spend time with her, I laugh. Funny is not my default setting, but oh I wish it were. I wish my knee-jerk [...]

Covered Wagons and Carnations

A couple of nights ago, I was at the grocery store, eager to get home, when I realized I’d put my stuff on the belt of the chatty checker. He’s the guy who loves to whine about the people he’s helped that day, or tell me about his sick dog, and while I try to [...]

Thursday’s Book Club Discussion Questions: Ladies (and Gentlemen) Start Your Pondering!

This Thursday we’ll be discussing Edith Wharton’s classic novel The Age of Innocence. If you’re a quick reader, you still have time to get it read. You can even download the Kindle version for free. The movie version is also free for those of you who have a Netflix account. (But if you do watch [...]

He Neither Slumbers Nor Sleeps

Four years ago today, the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, our twin girls were born. Moments of that day have slipped in and out of my mind all week, like a soft and gentle stream, giving life to everything around me. Mostly, I have been warmed by the tender, subtle feeling of being known. The girls [...]

This is the Tale of Two Parkers.

This is also, by extension, the tale of two friends, Renée and Melissa, and of two families, the Halls and the Bradfords, and of two freak events that yanked all of the above onto two different but similar, unforeseen and shadowy trajectories. The tale tells how such yanking might dislocate some joints, but how it [...]

Climbs and descents

I’ve been thinking of this ever since I read it a few weeks ago: You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, [...]

Bridging the Gap

My daughter fidgeted with patches and pins, belt loops and neckerchief slides on visits to the Gold Dust Scout store. She wanted some.  “Why do they get some and I don’t?” “It’s for Boys. You can join Girl Scouts. They have patches for girls.” I sighed. Last spring we bought Thin Mints at the corner [...]

Jackpot!

The Segullah journal is pleased to announce the results of our 2010 literary contests. We extend our congratulations to the honorees, and our gratitude to all the writers who participated. The winning entries will be published along with other noteworthy contest submissions in our Fall/Winter 2011 issue. We are now accepting submissions for our 2011 [...]

Sisterly Love

Valentine’s Day is coming up in less than a week. Mostly, I’ve been trying to ignore it (it’s not my favorite holiday), but my five-year-old won’t let me. For weeks now (literally) he has trailed me around the house, asking me to help him make valentines. In turn, I haul out the red, white, and [...]

Help Wanted: Extending the Reach of Relief Society

I’m gonna say it right up front: I love me some Relief Society. Always have, imagine I always will. I love the sense of sisterhood, the opportunities to have my life intertwined with others’ through the common threads of faith, joy, and sorrow. Mainly due to an outgoing nature, I’ve generally felt included and welcomed [...]

I Hope They Call Me on a Digital Mission

A few months ago I was called and set apart as a missionary. Not the full-time type, though — I’m a digital missionary in the Cambridge Massachusetts stake. The logic behind the mission is clear when you think about the way the digital age has changed our lives. Most of us are likely to search [...]

It’s a Mad Friday

So how about a little fun this Friday? Of course, as an English/writing person, my definition of “fun” might be different from yours. For my version of fun, you’ll need to start by brushing off your mad grammar skills and filling out this list: 1. Adjective 2. Item of clothing 3. Adjective 4. Exclamation 5. [...]

Afternoons of Nothing, part. 2

Last summer I noticed that nobody in my neighborhood actually mows their own lawns anymore. We don’t live in the kind of fancy neighborhood where it’s standard for landscaping companies to do all the work. But my son was regularly the only boy I ever saw pushing the mower. His friends told him that they [...]

Dragging Feet to Catching Stride

Once upon a time I met a really funny girl who I was certain was to become my best friend.  She had a silly, easy breezy, lovely way about her—open eyes, real people jeans on, her hair hastily pulled up into a something-or-other type mom hairdo with an elastic. We met on the root-torn sidewalk [...]

The Arts

I pushed “play” on the old silver cassette player as my parents kissed me goodnight and closed the door to my bedroom. I lay there alone in the darkness covered with my cool, fresh sheets, and listened to the clear familiar wail of the clarinet that opened Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. As an eight-year-old, I [...]

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