For the purposes of this writing exercise, I’m choosing to interpret “holiday” as a vacation v. a day of celebration. And while longer, I didn't feel this piece had enough stakes to qualify as a true Moth-style story or even a Mini-Slice. It was the lead-up to the celebration of our 10th anniversary and we … Continue reading 20 Minutes (or so): A Most Memorable Holiday
Month: April 2023
Mini-Slice: Music Lover
Inspired by a writing challenge around hobbies: how you got them and any that have carried from childhood to adult-life. After stepping away from many of my hobbies during the COVID-19 pandemic – mostly involuntarily due to shut-downs or family responsibilities, I have a heightened appreciation for their value and necessity. One hobby that I’ve … Continue reading Mini-Slice: Music Lover
Bearing Witness
Inspired by a writing challenge around the topic of: “a spiritual or religious experience” and also aligned to the theme of the Moth Radio Hour episode from 4/25/23, entitled “Bearing Witness.” My aunt Jill was a fascinating woman. My mom’s only sister, she abandoned her Wisconsin homeland for the Arizona desert, so I didn’t really … Continue reading Bearing Witness
20 Minutes: Most Valuable
Inspired by a writing theme around "your most valuable possessions" Without considering this for longer than a few moments, here is what I grabbed on to: My photos. Most are in “the cloud” backed up by Apple and Google and Meta (and likely others). But if that cloud went down, losing them would bring me … Continue reading 20 Minutes: Most Valuable
20 Minutes: Gratitude
Inspired by a writing theme around: What are you most grateful for today? Why? Practicing gratitude has been an important habit I’ve worked to build and a skill I’ve proactively tried to improve at, especially over the last 3 years (starting during the COVID-19 pandemic). And the thing with gratitude journals and working to identify … Continue reading 20 Minutes: Gratitude
20 Minutes: Quirks
Quirky: unusual or unique, especially in an interesting or appealing way As society has tried to embrace and normalize differences, I find fewer things within myself or others that I would consider quirky. Bringing your full self to situations and encounters has become more and more accepted, which is great. I choose to embrace quirks … Continue reading 20 Minutes: Quirks
20 Minutes: The Most Beautiful Art
A lover of art, I tend to be the most moved by performance art, especially live music, or theatre. I can think of a handful of situations where I’ve been so moved by a performance it has been transforming: emotional, all-encompassing and sticks with you long after it ends. To me, being moved to feel … Continue reading 20 Minutes: The Most Beautiful Art
20 Minutes: A Favourite Teacher
When I entered my high school chemistry class, I was still a clumsy, awkward teen, seeking external validation wherever I could get it. Within the first 2 days of school, before the long Labour Day weekend, Mr. Milligan let us use the Bunsen burners to melt glass rods and bend them into a 90 degree … Continue reading 20 Minutes: A Favourite Teacher
20 Minutes: A Heartbreak
I’m standing on a street corner in downtown Minneapolis in early winter. It’s early evening but the sky is dark and it’s very quiet. Huge, fluffy snowflakes are falling, beautiful and pure – covering the sidewalks and streets and cars with a soft blanket of white, but I don’t feel cold. It feels like I’m … Continue reading 20 Minutes: A Heartbreak
20 Minutes: Winning Something Fancy
“Write about winning something.” It was my birthday week and I was turning 40. Again. Actually I was turning 42, but it still felt like 40 and 41 had been lost to the pandemic. My husband suggested a trip to this hole-in-the-wall comedy club where he and our friend, Tom, had participated in a bar … Continue reading 20 Minutes: Winning Something Fancy
The [Unofficial] Moth Blog 