One of my favorite picture books as a child was about a little girl who doesn’t understand time, seasons, or the days of the week. She vaguely recalls holidays: the flowers blooming, baby chicks , a basket with a fluffy bunny. She remember a cracking walnuts in front of a warm fire, relatives gathering andContinue reading “Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Are You Tracking the Holidays?”
Category Archives: Family
Why Ebenezer Scrooge is Misunderstood
One Christmas song keeps playing over and over again inside my head and I want it to stop. Yes, I like some holiday tunes, but this song reeks of expectation that may or may not be fulfilled, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” an over sweet voice exclaims. Is it? I ask myself,Continue reading “Why Ebenezer Scrooge is Misunderstood”
Random Acts of Kindness
Do one small good deed a day, is a resolution I made to myself many years ago. Just a moment or two of unselfish kindness, maybe help a stranger lift a heavy package, give an unexpected compliment, or take the time to personally direct someone to the place they’re seeking when lost. Tiny good deeds.Continue reading “Random Acts of Kindness”
Trading Places as a Literary Device on a Freaky Friday
See the world, if only for a few moments through someone else’s eyes, and you gain both empathy and knowledge.
Bringing Up Baby. What’s Changed for 2022.
New words and vocabulary reflect some of the changes in 21st Century infant care.
Safe or Not? USA Celebrates Independence Day
All ages and sizes, they gathered to watch the first local parade in the state capital since the St. Paddy’s Day festivities of 2020. They smiled, waved, and hugged. I saw only one person wearing a mask.
Remembering My Father Herman Maril
This essay was originally published in Chesapeake Taste Magazine in June 2012 When I was 15 years old, I traveled to Mexico with my parents. It was the first time any of us had visited another country (although my father had served in World War II, he was never shipped overseas). An artist and headContinue reading “Remembering My Father Herman Maril”
Tell the Truth—Are Americans Honest? What Happened to Being a Good Sport?
From an early age we are taught sportsmanship. It’s an honor to play on a team. The benefits are great. When a player is injured on the field, in youth sports, everyone sits.
Let’s Think About Sean Connery While We’re Waiting for Election Results
Maybe because he was my first James Bond, he was the best.
Get Ready for a Different Kind of Holiday and Why it Might Be Time to Open Your Heart
I was tempted to put on my gloves this morning, especially when I picked up our dog’s cold soggy leash, wet from her dragging it across the grass while chasing the ball. Fall is here and the pumpkins on our vine are growing big. One in particular, looks large enough to set on the frontContinue reading “Get Ready for a Different Kind of Holiday and Why it Might Be Time to Open Your Heart”
Refusal to Wear Masks Forces Some Libraries to Close Their Doors
Surely at a library, a place that attracts people that value books, reading, education, and communication, people would be paying attention to what is going on around them and would be considerate of others. Sadly, I am wrong!
Food, Exercise, and a Dose of Distraction to Sustain My Spirits During The Pandemic
Like the little bunny rabbit that nibbles at the tall grass and garden in my yard, I nervously look around every time I go out for a walk or on an errand, trying to avoid oncoming strangers.
Creating Online Community in a Time of Masks and Social Distancing
Trying to offer condolences–My words feel hollow when what I would like to do is give her a hug, now an impossibility.
In Praise of the Dining Room
I do some of my best writing in the dining room. It doesn’t matter if the table is round, square or flat. As I contemplate words, phrases and sentences, in the back of my mind I remember meals of grilled salmon, slender stalks of green asparagus, risotto and late night conversations over chili, chips and beer. With plenty of space to spread out papers, the room for entertaining guests and gathering family together for me is the heart of the home.
Honor of Wendi Winters–Poem for Healing
A pro-active poem for healing In honor of Wendi Winters By Nadja Maril June 28th2018 The Facebook post says mark me safe I’m safe, here in Annapolis Maryland I’m safe, I’m safe Did you hear the news? White man with long gun and ponytail An angry vigilante Glass shattered at the newspaper office SeveralContinue reading “Honor of Wendi Winters–Poem for Healing”
Nadja Maril, Writer & Author 