Journal

Hunting for Eggs

Ellen Rockne — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:21:08 +0000

I was asked to do a one-minute reflection on hunting for Easter Eggs (!) this last Sunday at the Unitarian Society. (Of course, for me holding it to one minute was the big challenge). Here's what I had to say:

Today, in just a little while, right here on the grounds of the Society, our children will be hunting for eggs that have been hidden by our Coming of Age kids and our Youth Group teenagers.

This brings back memories. When I was a girl, we cousins had an Easter egg hunt every year. We ran like creatures obsessed, filling our baskets with treasure, and on the best years...NO ONE GOT HURT.

Eggs have been a symbol of new life since way before those "olden days". Every egg a perfect world of possibility. Every egg a reminder that life does go on, that the sun returns in Spring so the earth can birth her miracles, and many of those miracles are us.

New children join in the hunt every year, and so the generations pass. I like to remember though, that you are never too old to be looking for treasure, never too old to find a perfect world arriving just in time for Spring.

Thoughts from Last Winter

Ellen Rockne — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:59:32 +0000

My friend Jacob called on Saturday night. It wasn’t nighttime in Manila where he lies in a hospital bed, waiting, wondering how much function will return as his badly broken neck slowly heals.

The Journey

Ellen Rockne — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:05:43 +0000

I am experiencing some great and unexpected changes in my life. I just came across this poem, which I wrote some time ago, and was struck at how I could have written it this afternoon.

while I was on chemo

Ellen Rockne — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:30:48 +0000

I don't write poems often, but this one presented itself at the time.

Saving Jingles (A Children's Story)

Ellen Rockne — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:42:34 +0000

When our boys were little, they were part of a big group of kids of all ages in our town in Iowa who were homeschooled. They were all friends and they spent loads of time together. This is a true story from those times.

Music, music, music

Ellen Rockne — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:10:56 +0000

I DID end up being accepted into this summer's Cabaret Conference at Yale-and I am completely JAZZED! Here is the slightly unconventional bio I sent with my audition DVD:

Death By Another Name

Ellen Rockne — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:35:05 +0000

My cousin Jane received a breast cancer diagnosis this morning. Another cousin called to ask if I might contact her, since I have been in that place, walked down that path. I called. Things didn’t go so well. I mentioned death almost right away, cutting to what was my deep fear beneath cancer. She was reeling with her news, and there I was suggesting that fear abates when you face your death. I could have said potential death, but heck, none of us are going to potentially die. We are all goners for sure!

Best Bunnies

Ellen Rockne — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:00:00 +0000

My sister just wrote and said she is hooked on my blog, and I am jazzed! I was eight when she was born, and she was my littlest and best buddy for years. We had our own language--I will spare you the details, except to say that our word for yes was Seltz. Seltz! And in our world, we were not buddies, but bunnies.

The Stories We Tell

Ellen Rockne — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:00:00 +0000

This post is adapted from a sermon I gave last summer for the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, where we are members. I was halfway through 15 rounds of chemo at the time, and had just had the miracle of a clean PET scan. From the start, our community there supported us in countless ways, practically, emotionally and spiritually. I wanted to share something of my experience with them; I wanted to give thanks. Now, I offer it to you:

You Are Not the Boss of Me (a Children's Story)

Ellen Rockne — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:00:00 +0000

When I was small, I was really small. In fact, I was the shortest girl in my whole grade. I had a pixie haircut that stuck up in the back, and I had thick, black-framed glasses which came in handy because I loved reading books more than anything, except for maybe playing outside.