Perfecting Fun in Quiet Desperation: A lesson from the London Eye

Rosie sticks out her tongue.

This post is the fifth in our “England 2015”:/news/category/travel/england-2015/ series.

On our second day in London, we decided to take a trip on the “London Eye”:https://www.londoneye.com. This giant ferris wheel opened in 2000 and consists of 32 large glass-enclosed capsules that hold up to 25 people each. The view is incredible, and the girls had been drawing pictures of it practically since the moment we announced our plans for the trip.  Continue reading “Perfecting Fun in Quiet Desperation: A lesson from the London Eye”

Departure: The journey from crazy to calm

At O'Hare and reading to go!

This post is the third in our “England 2015”:/news/category/travel/england-2015/ series.

The week of departure was chaos. Pack the bags. Shop for airplane snacks. Clean the house. Finish up work projects. Pack up the cats and bring them to our friends’ house. Back up the computers. As I tied up loose ends at work and at home, staying up into the wee hours of the night, Jon voiced his concern that my stressful aura would spill over into our precious trip. Continue reading “Departure: The journey from crazy to calm”

Obsessing over Shoes: Gaining self-knowledge through packing

Ironing in England.

This post is the second in our “England 2015”:/news/category/travel/england-2015/ series.

About four months before our trip — on January 5, to be precise — we bought our plane tickets. “Hooray!” we rejoiced. “It’s really happening!” And I immediately became preoccupied with the questions of what to pack. Continue reading “Obsessing over Shoes: Gaining self-knowledge through packing”

U2 kept my soul tender: Reflections on the profound influence of the world’s most famous band

U2 in concert.

When Jon and I went to the U2 concert in late June, I merely expected to have an excellent time rocking out. I didn’t expect that it would spark a full summer of serious reflection on the way my soul has been formed by listening to U2 over the past three decades. Continue reading “U2 kept my soul tender: Reflections on the profound influence of the world’s most famous band”