I had a trick for when I felt overwhelmed as a kid and couldn’t do my homework for all the upset that was spinning in my head. I’d smash my right hand against the edge of the piano

Once Ehud called me on the phone and asked if I could get him some pot.

Dreamwriting. It’s okay to not always make sense when you aren’t sure what you want to say—at least it is okay in my world. The trick as a reader is to look at the space between words, between sentences, between paragraphs, and listen for what is missing and then make up a story of your own.

It’s not nothing to feel that you are floating through life. It’s not nothing to fear having dreams because the sense of inevitable disappointment is powerfully strong. It’s not nothing to feel unmoored, unknown, unsafe.

I used to think I had a broken internal compass. I made up a story that my mother had dropped me on my head when I was young when people teased me for going the wrong way.

I’ll wait for some things: the mail, the weather to clear, my nail polish to chip, but when it comes to warm scones, bread and hot espresso, uh huh. No thank you.

This time, I want the memories I carry to be more precise. During the next span of time between myself and Italy, I want to feast on and savor the details of how I spent my time there. I want to bring home more than a few tasty treats and the disjointed thoughts of a gratitude journal. This time, I want to bring home an artifact crafted by my own hands from the raw beauty of my Italian adventure.

The body is meant to be held and cradled and loved. The body is meant to touch and be touched. The body is meant to breathe deeply and to feel and to know pleasure and pain.

What if everything happens in your life in order for you to find love?

The other day I was on the Facebook page Adoption Truth and Transparency Worldwide Information Network and I saw Jenette and Janine, the Vance twins, were offering up (as is their style), an amazing act of generosity and creativity.

Adopted people can be so confusing! You would think they would all be crazy desperate to attach to everyone and everything, and some are, but watch for the ones who say they are fine. Watch for the ones who push away. We do not do well alone in the world.

How can you show the world who you are when you have no clue?