By Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News on Nov 3, 2022 Regular readers may recall that in the early pandemic days, I created an “art block” for our daily home-bound schedule. We expressed our hopes and dreams and growing claustrophobia through landscapes and still lifes and an unfortunate incident painting (“Bunnies…
Author: Esther Baird
The Practical Beauty of the Beatitudes: blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
By Esther C. Baird, as written for the Silver Bay Spiritual Life Center, Silver Bay, NY. To subscribe to the mailing please email: pastoralrespite@silverbay.org Good Morning, It was a perfect summer day (like most days were this last summer). I sat on our family dock looking south to Silver Bay’s Slim Point two coves away. I could see the…
Jumpstarting fall
By Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News September 28, 2022 Hey, regular readers! I’m back with a new column home. Last spring, after our eldest daughter graduated from high school, our older dog, Blue Ears, passed away, and I resigned from my Church Land job of over a decade. I needed…
The Practical Beauty of the Beatitudes: Intro
By Esther C. Baird, as written for the Silver Bay Spiritual Life Center, Silver Bay, NY. To subscribe to the mailing please email: pastoralrespite@silverbay.org Good Morning, Well it’s officially Fall. For many of us that means we aren’t at Lake George, (even though it’s arguably the most beautiful time to be there,) but rather we are…
Prom, Pizza, Pool Palooza
By Esther C. Baird (for wickedlocal.com May 2022) It was 11 pm a time when, like all exciting moms, I am normally long asleep. But instead, I was staring down my driveway at 64 teenagers. Let me repeat that, I said sixty-four teenagers. They were all in formal prom attire, walking towards me like a…
Dressing Up Spring
April 9, 2022 By Esther C. Baird (currently in between publication in Boston based newspapers) Spring clean-ups are happening in the neighborhood which means it’s Delusional Spring in our world. I try to be optimistic this time of year, but winter was long and cold and a bit of a drag. This fake, spring-like mode,…
The Wonder of it All
Hey Regular Reader, Happy New Year! What’s that? It’s not off to a great start? Really? I hadn’t noticed. Well, maybe I had an inkling when every person I knew got Covid between Christmas and New Years. It was a buzzkill of a New Years Eve. Forget the champagne, America was hopped up on NyQuil…
Loving our neighbor, stabbing our wreaths
By Esther C. Baird (Written for whatever newspaper on the Northshore is still running if not Wickedlocal. December 2021.) Well. Year two trying to juggle the craziest time of the year amongst a pesky little pandemic. We are all exhausted. Burnt out. And so easily triggered. We may be feeling almost anything but good will…
Working on It
By Esther C. Baird Written for the Chronicle & Transcript, Nov 2021 Our 14 year old daughter and I are both in post-concussion therapy. Hers has to do with strengthening muscles so that she’s less prone to getting a concussion next time she’s hit by a ball, or bounces on a wave, or generally has…
Baby, you’re a firework
By Esther Baird First Published in the Chronicle & Transcript, Nov 3, 2021 We’ve been remodeling our kitchen since the dawn of time. Or, you know, July. Supply chains, container ships, backordered everything and all that excitement has been our reality. But for each decision we chose the most timeless option, the one unlikely to…