There is a tree not far from town that holds a particular mystique. When I first moved here for college, I hadn’t heard of it, even though I grew up only 35 miles away and came in for flute lessons all the time. I’m not actually sure when it first crossed my radar. I suspect…
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Novelist, composer, choir director, hobby photographer, mom of four, and budding disability rights activist--why yes, in fact I do have my hands full.
Mom Needs An Award For This
The spring after my #3 child started scouts, he ranked up for the first time. When I arrived that night, one of the troop leaders handed me a green sash. “This is for you,” he said. “What’s this for?” I asked. “He’s going to give you something,” the leader said. My response was, “O…kay…” A…
Read MoreDisney World, Disability, and Celiac
It’s been a month since we returned from Disney World, and for that entire time I’ve been intending to reflect about Disney with disability/celiac. We are planners in our house, but oh! the heights of planning we have achieved since my daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease. Our first meal at a restaurant required a…
Read MoreClaiming Space
I spent the first 8 days of June preparing our family for a trip to Disney World, days 8-18 IN Disney World, days 19-26 unpacking, reorganizing, and shopping to keep our family fed in two different locations while I was in a third; and days 26-+1 presenting/playing at convention. Since I returned, I have been…
Read MoreBetween Luddism and addiction
Last night I dreamed I had a smart phone and I was eating it. Weird, I know. I’ll chalk it up to being in the process of writing this blog post. Because I had a moment this past week that shocked me, even though it was only a visceral confirmation of things I already knew.…
Read MoreGiveaway: Because it’s Women’s Fiction Day!
I have been writing stories since I was 8 years old. Seriously. My second cousin and I used to sit in the back of the Catholic school bus (and yes, both the second cousin and the Catholic school bus reveal a heck of a lot about what kind of life I lived as a child!)…
Read MoreA Weekend Hermitage
Last weekend, I was alone in my house for 48 hours. This might seem like a non-event, but for the matriarch of a gang of 6 (did I really just refer to myself as a matriarch? Ugh!), it really is an event. I do not think I have been by myself in this house overnight…
Read MoreStream of Consciousness
I’m writing this on a Thursday night (though it won’t post until morning), sitting on my deck by myself on a lovely evening in May. If any of you have ever had four kids, three of them teenagers, you know what my May is like. Currently we have soccer, baseball, horseback, color guard, drumline auditions,…
Read MoreCuddled By God
Thank God for good friends. Friends who bring wine to choir practice when they know you’ve had a crappy (series of) day(s). Friends who stand in your driveway and cry with you when you say, “Why does everything have to be so HARD?” Friends who send you links to articles and reflections that challenge you…
Read MoreBack to Basics
Shortly before the Covid shutdowns, I bought a new headjoint for my flute. A flute has three pieces, and although the material and the workmanship is important to all three, the headjoint is the one you upgrade if you aren’t upgrading the whole instrument. This particular one is glorious, with a brilliant tone and an…
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Kathleen M. Basi 