Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
I have this recurring dream that I am teaching a class, composed of adults and adolescents, which is spread out over three rooms. Try as I might to build community through ice breaking activities, it is physically impossible to reach all the students at one time. I am reminded of how it feels to teach […]
Read MoreJust as Paul Kalanithi’s future looked bright, cancer struck. As a doctor (neurosurgeon) he knew all too well what he was about to face, and guided by his oncologist, had to make difficult life choices. Kalanithi bravely decided to commit his journey to paper, offering an inside glimpse of illness from the eyes of a […]
Read MoreI was sixteen and starry-eyed when the handsome, eighteen-year-old G asked me out. For two years I had secretly swooned over him but I never dreamed that he would notice me. I felt like the luckiest girl alive! When he told me that he was going to be the next drummer for The Who, I […]
Read MoreSaw a picture of you today – us, just approaching sixteen – and instantly recognized the awkwardness with which you carry yourself: the painful self-consciousness, never knowing quite where you fit in or even if you are good enough to be in the picture. Since today is our birthday, I decided to dedicate this post […]
Read MoreA week after my husband completed thirty-five rounds of radiation for Stage III Prostate cancer, and a year to the date that I learned surgery to remove cancerous tissues from my breast was successful, Ric fell down a flight of steps rupturing his quad tendon. Ten weeks after surgery, he would fall again, causing further […]
Read MoreLiving with ME/CFS is often a matter of trial and error – the line between what the body is capable of and overexertion is never quite definable, except in the aftermath. Yesterday, I accompanied my daughter to Costco, which was teeming with cars and people. We found a parking spot close to the entrance, and […]
Read MoreDear Friend, I saw you in my dream; you were across the street and I caught myself hesitating – should I wave, acknowledge you, or keep on going? Then you headed towards me, crossing what is now more a river than a street, there is so much water that has passed between us. You gave […]
Read MoreBefore illness (ME/CFS), I had my life lined up, like a shopkeeper perfectly aligning her shelves, ready to get down to business. One more course and I would be at the top pay scale, qualified to fill many shoes in the education field. I had landed my dreamed-for job in Special Education, and was starting […]
Read MoreI’ll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson is a poignant, multi-faceted approach to many issues facing young people today; a coming of age story that examines both the female and male experience through the voices of twins, Jude and Noah. Not surprisingly, this novel has won many awards (click on link above for listing). […]
Read MoreHesitantly, I turn the key in the lock and push the door ajar. A waft of warm, stale air accosts me. “Hello?” I’d been told there might not be a response. Something is resting against the door, so I push harder to let myself in. The beam from the light of the open doorway is […]
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One Woman's Quest II 