INSIDE THE BOX

Halloween
Halloween, Fall, Autumn Jennie Smith-Pariola Halloween, Fall, Autumn Jennie Smith-Pariola

Halloween

A creeping, slithering, sinister movement is afoot in our neighborhood. Seemingly overnight, the yards all around us are being transformed from lovely green lawns and beatific flowerbeds into graveyards and witch havens.

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For Strong Women
For Strong Women, Women Jennie Smith-Pariola For Strong Women, Women Jennie Smith-Pariola

For Strong Women

I saw an old friend recently who confessed she’d been going through a tough time. You’d never know it by looking at her. . . . Like so many of the strong women I know, she has a seemingly limitless store of talent and energy. But maybe she needs a break from being strong.

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I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

It’s been a chilly, dreary spring so far in central Illinois: lots and lots and LOTS of rain. Bone-cold, blowing, hit-you-from-the-side-rain. But this morning, as I strolled along the river at the center of our town, I spotted a clump of brave little daffodils pushing up their delicate heads to brighten the world around them.

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a poem of war
War, Ukraine Jennie Smith-Pariola War, Ukraine Jennie Smith-Pariola

a poem of war

War kills so much more than soldiers. It kills babies in their cribs, young women on their way to work, and old men in their chairs. It kills livelihoods and neighborhoods, schools and parks, forests and waterways. It kills dreams. It kills hope. It can kill our very souls . . . .

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Before the ice is in the pools
Emily Dickinson, Winter, Before the ice is in the pools Jennie Smith-Pariola Emily Dickinson, Winter, Before the ice is in the pools Jennie Smith-Pariola

Before the ice is in the pools

For people all around the world, December is a time of preparation, anticipation, and wonder. Whether we’re celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Winter Solstice, Omisoka, or no holiday at all, December nudges us to reflect on what has been, look forward to what lies ahead, and open ourselves up again to the possibilities of magic and miracle.

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Thanksgiving Time
Thanksgiving, Gratitude Jennie Smith-Pariola Thanksgiving, Gratitude Jennie Smith-Pariola

Thanksgiving Time

Isn’t it wonderful to have a holiday that asks us to pause and give thanks? In the midst of the daily bustle, as we go about doing and planning, coming and going, fretting and longing, it is all too easy to lose sight of the innumerable gifts that enrich our lives.

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