a radio was on.

My older children, especially Zachary, are fond of one particular legend from the Salem witch trials. In 1692, Ann Putnam, Jr., Marcy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Mary Walcott (five girls, in a way, all teenagers) accused Giles Corey of being a witch. At this point in the dark unfolding of accusations, hangings, and the dissolution of family and town alike, the trial was a well-oiled machine. Wiitches could save themselves from hanging only by perversely confessing to being a witch and providing a set of convincing details, most of which were borrowed from the storyline provided by Tituba, a woman who was enslaved by the minister of Salem, who, once accused, held the courtroom rapt with her stories of meeting the devil in the woods at night, signing his book, and (my favorite detail) suffering when a small yellow bird lit between her fingers and sharply pecked at her. When she spoke of the bird, the accusing girls writhed in pain, "seeing" the same bird fli...

My older children, especially Zachary, are fond of one particular legend from the Salem witch trials. In 1692, Ann Putnam, Jr., Marcy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Mary Walcott (five girls, in a way, all teenagers) accused Giles Corey of being a witch. At this point in the dark unfolding of accusations, hangings, and the dissolution of family and town alike, the trial was a well-oiled machine. Wiitches could save themselves from hanging only by perversely confessing to being a witch and providing a set of convincing details, most of which were borrowed from the storyline provided by Tituba, a woman who was enslaved by the minister of Salem, who, once accused, held the courtroom rapt with her stories of meeting the devil in the woods at night, signing his book, and (my favorite detail) suffering when a small yellow bird lit between her fingers and sharply pecked at her. When she spoke of the bird, the accusing girls writhed in pain, "seeing" the same bir...

To go into the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. --Wendell Berry. It took me aback to see that I had not posted for about six weeks, but I can tell you that the reason why is the dark of which Wendell Berry speaks. There are days when I can share the sweetest sentences of five-year olds, the comfort of a dear friend's words, or even the joy of regaining strength and aptitude in my body, which I have, as the treatment continues to fight my cancer. But I have been sitting with grief of late, and it is hard and it is uncomfortable and it won't leave me alone. Every morning I wake up and for one split second I think I am in my old life and then I remember: I have cancer. And this tremendous weight falls right back into me, like a dark heavy shadow that has been hovering over me as I sleep, waiting to be invited back in by my awakened self. And I want to run away from my own truths, that I have cancer, and that I'm in grieving for the life I thou...

To go into the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. --Wendell Berry. It took me aback to see that I had not posted for about six weeks, but I can tell you that the reason why is the dark of which Wendell Berry speaks. There are days when I can share the sweetest sentences of five-year olds, the comfort of a dear friend's words, or even the joy of regaining strength and aptitude in my body, which I have, as the treatment continues to fight my cancer. But I have been sitting with grief of late, and it is hard and it is uncomfortable and it won't leave me alone. Every morning I wake up and for one split second I think I am in my old life and then I remember: I have cancer. And this tremendous weight falls right back into me, like a dark heavy shadow that has been hovering over me as I sleep, waiting to be invited back in by my awakened self. And I want to run away from my own truths, that I have cancer, and that I'm in grieving for the life I...

I could not be more proud of Stephanie, Cameron, and Avery, all of whom are running a half marathon this morning in honor of Tracy. They are running with the Ropes team and have collectively raised $4,265 for the benefit of Dana-Farber. Good luck this morning! http://www.rundanafarber.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1172168&lis=1&kntae1172168=FA28D46E4D764C7182539AB878203020&supId=0&team=6955533&cj=Y

I wanted to report that Tracy had a brain MRI recently, and it came back clean. Tracy has been experiencing some unpleasant side effects from her meds, so a brain MRI was done to rule out the possibility that the cancer had migrated to her brain. It had not. If you’ve never had a brain MRI before, lucky you. They are awful. Tracy had her MRI done in an open MRI, which isn’t really so open (but far better than the alternative). There’s a little mirror positioned so that the person being imaged can see out of the tube. To enable us to see each other throughout the MRI, I leaned over so my head was basically on Tracy’s lap. It’s too loud during the MRI to hear anyone, but our eyes could speak to each other. Anyway, Tracy was a total champ despite being put in a tube with a mask over her face for well over an hour all the while being terrified that the cancer may have progressed. The great news is that the MRI results are additional evidence that the targeted therapy Tracy is on is working...

I wanted to report that Tracy had a brain MRI recently, and it came back clean. Tracy has been experiencing some unpleasant side effects from her meds, so a brain MRI was done to rule out the possibility that the cancer had migrated to her brain. It had not. If you’ve never had a brain MRI before, lucky you. They are awful. Tracy had her MRI done in an open MRI, which isn’t really so open (but far better than the alternative). There’s a little mirror positioned so that the person being imaged can see out of the tube. To enable us to see each other throughout the MRI, I leaned over so my head was basically on Tracy’s lap. It’s too loud during the MRI to hear anyone, but our eyes could speak to each other. Anyway, Tracy was a total champ despite being put in a tube with a mask over her face for well over an hour all the while being terrified that the cancer may have progressed. The great news is that the MRI results are additional evidence that the targeted therapy Tracy is on is working...

I could not be more proud of Stephanie, Cameron, and Avery, all of whom are running a half marathon this morning in honor of Tracy. They are running with the Ropes team and have collectively raised $4,265 for the benefit of Dana-Farber. Good luck this morning! http://www.rundanafarber.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1172168&lis=1&kntae1172168=FA28D46E4D764C7182539AB878203020&supId=0&team=6955533&cj=Y