Barbara Swander Miller


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Honoring the journey—then and now

  • Thank you, Black Keys

    On the days I dwell in the land of CanDo, just doing things I can do and do do most of the time, my feet slog along, heavily weighted by boring, everyday brown muck. When I venture into the land of MaybeICan, my feet sink into another kind of gunk: Orangey-brown, chartreuse sludge made from…

  • Can it get any better?

    A long weekend getaway! Traveling on the spur of the moment! Being invited to hang out at a friend’s Air BnB! It’s all so exciting! But the getting there can be the pits. My expectations were high starting out this afternoon. Traveling in and out of Dayton International Airport is so easy. It’s not much…

  • I'm not much of a gambler

    But in the garden, I’ll take my chances I’ve never been one to depend on chance. The craps and roulette tables never tempt me as I pass through a smokey casino on a cruise ship. I scurry along to avoid smelling like cigarettes when I emerge on the other side. I learned gambling didn’t pay…

  • We’re having a little party on Saturday

    I’ve got to get ready Even though they won’t be coming, I feel my parents nudging me. I kick into Dad mode. Make a list and assign chores to anyone who is standing nearby or is expected to be standing nearby in the coming hours. Used to be that was my kids’ seasonal horror. “You…

  • What if your brain never turned off?

    It might result in a book! What if instead of just chillin’, your brain kept running possible scenarios? What if it never stopped asking questions? What if it constantly generated ideas to improve your day, or work, or life? Or someone else’s? My brain is like that. At night, I often toss and turn until…

  • A rough night

    At the Abbey A Rough Night I heard the bells call the monks at Vigils and briefly considered rousing myself to join them. I didn’t. I prayed instead, requesting comfort for my loved ones. At Lauds, the bells clanged again. I counted, but lost track. Were they fainter, or was I exhausted from fretting and…

  • An age-old journey

    This week, I’ve been in Kentucky on a silent, unprogrammed retreat at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. Trappist monks have lived here in silence since 1848, their charge to worship God and welcome visitors in the Benedictine tradition. Gethsemani Abbey is well known as the former home of the contemplative monk and writer…

  • A teacher’s Saturday

    on Spring Break Pull off the mask of monotony, the cloak of routine, and allow the joyful voice of your hidden heart to sing with gleeful abandon. Dance! Fling your arms wide to embrace the fresh day with its newly scrubbed face of opportunity. Then wrap the shawl of serenity around your sturdy shoulders that…

  • The Baumpies arrive

    A shaft of moonbeam pierced the upper pane of glass, so bright that as it hit my face, I thrashed, untangling my restless legs from the crisp percale that imprisoned them. Wadded now where the foot of my bed met the sloping ceiling, my sheets released me to the light’s magnetic pull. Cool, rough floorboards…

  • Adulting isn't easy

    Even at my age! The weather is deliciously warm today, with a high in the 60s. There’s not a cloud in the sky- a perfect spring Hoosier day, albeit somewhat early. Too bad it had to be ruined. After my husband left to run errands this afternoon, I let the pup into the back yard…

Barbara Swander Miller

Honoring the journey in everyday life

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