Perspectives on a Child Found

January 15, 2025.Reading time 2 minutes.

First of all, deep gratitude to the police for their work finding our missing teen. One week after she disappeared, she is home again. Initially, the feeling was immense relief. The emotions we’d been holding in, along with our breaths, gushed out in sobs. But a tragedy like this does not unravel itself in a […]

Let Responsibility Lie Where It Belongs

August 28, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

I was raised to be a fixer. Right up there with people pleaser, it’s a hard practice to shake. Recently, I’ve been struggling with my husband’s new habit of staying up late. I worry about whether or not he’s getting enough sleep, and concerned that he’ll hurt his neck if he falls asleep sitting up. […]

July 31, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

In my family of origin, the emphasis was on drama – who is doing what, and how they should change it. It was akin to a herd of cats all chasing each others tails. I understand now that this the dance of co-dependency. It’s a hard pattern to break free from. Bottomline is that I […]

Vacancy

May 15, 2024.Reading time 2 minutes.

It’s been a year since my mother’s death and this past weekend we held a memorial. It coincided with Mother’s Day, which packed an extra punch. The grief that follows loss is seldom simple. Yes, I miss my mom. Yes, I am relieved that she has found an end to her suffering. There is also […]

Ancestral

April 24, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

“You never express your feelings, Mom. Everything gets swept under the rug.” This from my middle daughter, who raged at me recently for never being available to help, She has an expectation that Grandparents should be always on call. “And why did you choose to live so far away!” It’s 45 minutes by car, and […]

Walls and Boundaries

January 24, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

I wasn’t taught about boundaries as a child, in fact, I was encouraged not to have any. No one said so, specifically, but in the drive to please, I came to this interpretation. Walls, however, grew organically. I remember many a time, curled up on my childhood bed, raging and in tears, repeating over and over: ”I need nothing; […]

Magical Beings

December 15, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

There is nothing more magical than a baby, who is able to capture the wonder of all. Magical is the prompt for Lens-Artists photo challenge this week.

Priceless

August 25, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A baby brings so many things into perspective, especially the importance of love and connection. For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: MasterCard: There are some things money can’t buy.

Familial Snags

August 9, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

Days before she turned 65, Mom confessed that she suspected she had cancer. “I’m thinking about just letting it take me,” she said. There were many things I wanted to say in that moment, such as: You should be discussing this with a therapist and not your daughter, but; this was the nature of our […]

Looking For Silver Linings

August 9, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Note: I’ve written before about how my older brothers were kidnapped by their father as kids. My mom and her new husband (my father) had won custody, but as my oldest sister was hospitalized, they were unable to go after them or hire a private investigator. Eventually, the oldest brother returned to us on his […]

Limbo

With each stanzaI strive for an upswing –idle thoughts leadingto a crescendo… But exhaustion plaguesmy try, and fog coloursperspicacity, so my wordsland low, goal in limbo (Image my own)

Frigid (haiku)

An Escape Plan

An incorrigible hagengages my loneliness –like an assassin sniffing outany scent of vulnerability I am lowering standardsthis history of imprisonmentenabling inappropriate openings I cry for new perspectiveponder after boundariesintending to defend Like an unwanted bullseyeI am pursued on repeatmalice considering mea problem to be solved Who is this old womanwhose thoughts are daggerswho calls upon […]