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The Everyday Magic Blog

I'm so happy to share my blog, started in 2008 as part of my writing practice and as way to connect directly with you! Please peruse the blog, and sign up to get the latest posts. You can also get my beautifully-produced and illustrated collection of many blog posts, Everyday Magic: Fieldnotes on the Mundane and the Miraculous through Meadowlark Press here. Thanks for being part of my everyday magic.

What Talking About Books Across Kansas Can Do Over 32 Years: Everyday Magic, Day 1100

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Jun 2
7 min

What Talking About Books Across Kansas Can Do Over 32 Years: Everyday Magic, Day 1100

"So when we look at how a character changes the narrative of her life, we learn a lot about how we can do this too," I told ten people in...

In Praise of Herb: Everyday Magic, Day 1091

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Jan 22
2 min

In Praise of Herb: Everyday Magic, Day 1091

This weekend, we celebrated the 90th birthday of our friend Herb, hands down one of the most creative and loving humans I've ever met....

What Can We Do in Impossible Times: Everyday Magic, Day 1088

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Nov 22, 2023
3 min

What Can We Do in Impossible Times: Everyday Magic, Day 1088

This morning, after waking once again at 5 a.m. freaked out about the state of the world, Gaza and Israel specifically, I eventually gave...

Your Jewish Friends Are Also Not Okay: Everyday Magic, Day 1087

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Oct 31, 2023
4 min

Your Jewish Friends Are Also Not Okay: Everyday Magic, Day 1087

I am an American Jew in love with the beauty of the world. I am a human in anguish over what others of my species are doing to one...

Defining Moments in the Dark: Everyday Magic, Day 1075

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Jan 21, 2023
3 min

Defining Moments in the Dark: Everyday Magic, Day 1075

I was fifteen years ago and miserable when I first went to a youth group Havdalah service one winter evening. I was living with my very...

Juxtapositions Make Life Interesting: Everyday Magic, Day 1074

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Jan 8, 2023
2 min

Juxtapositions Make Life Interesting: Everyday Magic, Day 1074

Juxtapositions — putting like with non-like — add zip, surprise, sometimes anxiety, and often uncertainty to our lives. They’re also at...

The Call: Everyday Magic, Day 1057

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Sep 7, 2021
2 min

The Call: Everyday Magic, Day 1057

This morning, I gave a short talk at the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation’s Rosh Hashana service on Shafarot, a calling to live...

In Praise of Goody: Everyday Magic, Day 1032

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Mar 16, 2021
3 min

In Praise of Goody: Everyday Magic, Day 1032

“The world will never be the same,” Ken told me right after Goody Garfield’s burial service. “We were witness to one of a kind, and...

Days of Awe in an Unusual Year: Everyday Magic, Day 1016

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Sep 26, 2020
3 min

Days of Awe in an Unusual Year: Everyday Magic, Day 1016

The Days of Awe — the 10 days between Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), it’s time to clean up our act. We...

If God Didn’t Want Us to Pray at Home, She Wouldn’t Have Invented Zoom: Everyday Magic,

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Apr 11, 2020
3 min

If God Didn’t Want Us to Pray at Home, She Wouldn’t Have Invented Zoom: Everyday Magic,

Or Facebook Live. Or Youtube. Or any number of places to help us worship together while keeping physically apart and spiritually close. A...

Where I Live: A New Year’s Moment: Everyday Magic, Day 986

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Sep 29, 2019
2 min

Where I Live: A New Year’s Moment: Everyday Magic, Day 986

I’ve always lived in the wind and sky. From my Brooklyn bedroom, upstairs in a narrow triplex somewhere in East Flatbush, I would lean...

There But for Grace: Everyday Magic, Day 963

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Jan 31, 2019
2 min

There But for Grace: Everyday Magic, Day 963

Eighteen years ago, we almost lost our youngest son Forest in a car accident involving black ice, three kids and me in a van, and the...

Look for the Miriams: Everyday Magic, Day 956

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Oct 29, 2018
3 min

Look for the Miriams: Everyday Magic, Day 956

A few hours after the Tree of Life shooting, we clung to each other — singing, praying, crying — at the Beth Israel Center in Madison,...

On the Cusp of the Days of Awe: Everyday Magic, Day 953

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Sep 9, 2018
3 min

On the Cusp of the Days of Awe: Everyday Magic, Day 953

This pre-Rosh Hashana afternoon, as I watch a dive-bombing hummingbird and a dozen others just trying to get a drink from our feeder, my...

In Gratitude for Neil: Everyday Magic, Day 917

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Nov 18, 2017
3 min

In Gratitude for Neil: Everyday Magic, Day 917

We sat at a small table in La Prima Tassa on a spring day filtering sunshine across our table, sipping tea and updating each other on our...

Losing and Finding My C’hai (Which is Not a Dala Horse): Everyday Magic, Day 915

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Nov 9, 2017
2 min

Losing and Finding My C’hai (Which is Not a Dala Horse): Everyday Magic, Day 915

At breakfast at the Swedish Country Inn in Lindsborg, Kansas, someone said she liked my tiny gold Dala horse necklace. It took me a...

Save the Humanities!: Everyday Magic, Day 894

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Mar 24, 2017
3 min

Save the Humanities!: Everyday Magic, Day 894

Photo by Stephen Locke, used with permission The kids were already in the front seats when I arrived at the Coffey County Library branch...

Bringing Charles Home: Everyday Magic, Day 863

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Jun 19, 2016
3 min

Bringing Charles Home: Everyday Magic, Day 863

It was one of those Kansas days when any moment of daylight would be heavy with heat and humidity although a 9 a.m. burial was more like...

The Light, the Dark, and a Road Trip to Western Kansas: Everyday Magic, Day 890

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Mar 4, 2016
2 min

The Light, the Dark, and a Road Trip to Western Kansas: Everyday Magic, Day 890

I first presented the book to the marvelous Pioneer Memorial Library, which brought together close to 80 people in the basement for lunch...

Counting Stars, Time, and Remembering Jerry: Everyday Magic, Day 880

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Dec 14, 2015
3 min

Counting Stars, Time, and Remembering Jerry: Everyday Magic, Day 880

All day, I had been thinking about a year ago when our dear friend Jerry died after either a short or long illness, depending on how you...

Get your copy of Everyday Magic: Field Notes on the Mundane & Miraculous -- a collection from this blog -- from Meadowlark Press.

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