by Ashley Larkin | May 2, 2017 | Gratitude, Open endings, Perspective
Horse chestnut trees are considered a nuisance. Ask anyone who’s had one, and they can tell you why. Tell all about the seasons of fallen leaves, spike balls (conkers), sticky pollen pods and flowers smelling of slightly distant poopy diapers. Many of you have...
by Ashley Larkin | Nov 3, 2016 | Faith, Gratitude, Hope, Love, Perspective
Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. -Mary Oliver- You might have found yourself there. On the backside of an experience that is utterly ground-shifting life change. You’ve returned home, and though part of you wants to...
by Ashley Larkin | Sep 30, 2016 | Five Minute Friday, Gratitude, Joy, Mothering
We are on the third (or maybe fourth) leg of our afternoon school pick-up, which means “Lala,” Clementine and I have been sitting in the minivan for a while now. Big sister “J” should arrive any moment with her middle school carpool. From our...
by Ashley Larkin | Apr 20, 2016 | Faith, Fear, Grace, Gratitude, Love, Perspective, Redemption
I’ve recognized over the years, though I still don’t get, that some people are simply not animal people. No judgment here, friends. I just don’t understand. So for you, maybe this story is not about a dog at all, but perhaps hope and audacious prayers and receiving...
by Ashley Larkin | Oct 23, 2015 | Five Minute Friday, Gratitude, Joy, Perspective
{The Lice Quarantine Room} We escaped from the throes of lice this week — the third time the girls have caught it at school in the last 13 months. I take that back. We did not escape lice. There is no escaping lice once they’ve made their way onto your...
by Ashley Larkin | Sep 29, 2015 | Community, Gratitude, One Word: Fearless, Perspective, Risk-taking
Back in the spring, a rectangular card arrived in my mailbox. A distinctive font scrolled across an ombre watercolor wash of blue and at the top three words: The Open Door. I held the invitation to join a small group of women from around the country — speakers,...
Connecting through the power of stories written, spoken and lived
