As summer exhales its last breaths, I give thanks for its many gifts. Soon spontaneity will yield to regimen, a house cascading with myriad voices of four children and friends will settle into silent swaths of hours. The solitude I crave beckons. Like the wistful weary feeling at the end of a hot afternoon spent playing with…Read more Summer Day
Life in Colorado
Of Birds and Parenting
Scampering around in the grass barefoot, my son suddenly squealed and leapt for the concrete patio. I went to inspect the source of his alarm: a quivering huddle of feathers. He assumed it was dead like another hapless victim, a naked nestling, we found earlier that evening on a nearby rock. But as I knelt…Read more Of Birds and Parenting
Do Dogs Go to Heaven?
If dogs wore clothing, Rico would have been a tuxedo-clad gentleman. I'm sure he would have played the saxophone in a jazz band. Rico, a brindle greyhound, came into our lives most unexpectedly. A co-worker rescued him after he retired from racing, but shared her concerns about keeping him in her apartment. My husband and…Read more Do Dogs Go to Heaven?
Colorado Magic
From the intricate details of a Columbine wildflower to skies soaring over mountain peaks, Colorado is truly a magic place. I am prone to sudden and frequent exclamations to my children, "Do you realize how blessed we are to live here!?" As I roam my home state, chasing after my kids' baseball games this summer, wonder and gratitude…Read more Colorado Magic
Summer Has Come
Time and space for painting and writing is scarce this summer. Without accessing those deep creative parts of my being, at times I feel dry and out-of-touch with myself and with God. But I am simultaneously aware that my heart is storing away moments like treasures from a far-away land. Moments in time that, when there…Read more Summer Has Come
For Love of the Game
When the clatter of life presses in, I step through that stadium opening and every worry fades in a sun-wash across my eyes. Like laundry bleached white, the day flaps in the breeze, bright and full of possibility. Rows of metal bleachers guard the perimeter, keeping watch with the outfield fence proclaiming, “Welcome to the friendly confines of…Read more For Love of the Game
Long Road Home
Sometimes hope stumbles on the rocks and shatters. We give all we have, and it is not enough. We climb a steep, uphill trail, straining with all our might towards a goal. Willing to pay the price, we breathe the sharp thinning air of high altitude; feel the ache in our bones of pushing harder…Read more Long Road Home
Risk
After two weeks of frigid winds and temperatures plummeting below zero-degrees Fahrenheit, at last the sun again extended its regal hand of mercy to Colorado. Eagerly I wheeled my bike out of hibernation into crisp, clear, tolerably cold air. Halfway through the ride, my spirit soared in wonder. I stumbled on the route not long before…Read more Risk
Painting a Prayer
I’ll be honest. Prayer is often difficult for me, at least as prayer is traditionally defined – sitting or kneeling and talking to God. A couple main reasons: I am a person of few spoken words, and it’s hard for me to sit still. When I was in my early 20’s, I passed through turbulent waters.…Read more Painting a Prayer
My Truce With the City
Turning down the obscure alley on my way to Modbo and S.P.Q.R., twin galleries in downtown Colorado Springs, my memories slip to another time and place. I see a much younger version of myself, laughing with friends in a city-scape of clanging metal, hissing manholes, and steam curling into clouds. At first, I skidded into the city like…Read more My Truce With the City
Colleen Briggs Images & Writing 