The Numbers Don’t Tell All

April 10, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

“We only test the front line workers.” This from Public Health. My daughter has been sick for days with cough. Via video chat, her family doctor says she likely has COVID-19. She prescribed inhalers and cough medicine. It didn’t really help. So she called the doctor again. “I can’t see you in my office if […]

Communication

December 4, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week Challenge: communication. My kids may kill me for posting these old pics, so please don’t mention it, lol.

Paradoxical

October 3, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Fear and intimidation formed the basis of his power. To this day I tremble, afraid I’ve misstepped – parked the car wrong, forgot to close the door properly, or spoken out of turn. My father was a hand grenade with the pin perpetually pulled. He was also motivational, citing the works of Carnegie, Peale, Gibran, […]

Blessings Plus a Year

July 25, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Sunflowers and chocolates kick off my birthday week. Delivered by daughter and her family made it all the more special. I share my birthday month with now seven-year-old Sloane and our youngest, so July is filled with blessings. We are adjusting to the role reversals here – I now drive Ric to appointments, and do […]

Grandparents Are Blessings

July 11, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Great Grandma (my mom) lives on at 92. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren adore her. I never knew my grandfathers – both having died the year before my birth. I remember my grandmothers, and was particularly close with one until she died when I was eleven. I still have her last letter to me. My other […]

Blessing of Serenity

July 4, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Settling in a small town, especially a senior’s community, is not something I would have ever envisioned, and yet; here we are. Funny how life works like that, and thank goodness it does. I appreciate this place that we have landed more and more each day. It has not been without difficulty, this move away […]

Blended Blessings

June 6, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Marrying for the third time entailed blending families – not always an easy task. I had three; he had two – bookends to mine. Falling in love is one thing, but the chances that all parties will be enthused about the idea is another. Ric’s oldest, a son, was already an adult when we met, […]

Birthday Art

May 2, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

I started the tradition – a challenge really – to create a painting for each of my family members’ birthdays. The challenge continues, as the birthdays keep coming. What to paint for my daughter-in-law, who has already claimed many of my art pieces? I wanted something personal and meaningful, so I decided to tackle an […]

To All Aspiring Dads

March 24, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

” I’m worried about my generation, Mom. There are so few male role models to set an example, how are we supposed to know how to live our lives?” My son was fifteen when he shared this concern with me. Having watched his own father turn his back during our divorce, and witnessing the same […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #40: Things My Father Said*

March 18, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

(* or any male of influence growing up.) I can’t count the number of times my father’s words hover over me, even though he’s been gone since 2005. He was the king of platitudes – constantly quoting (and making us recite) the works of Dale Carnegie, or Norman Vincent Peale. “Mind over matter,” he’d say […]

Self-Actualization

The magic is notin crossing pathswith celebrity Gaining entryinto inner circlesdeconstructing myths Magic is the momentwhen flattery does not swaywhen recognition surpasses the gloss of stargazingembraces inner substanceevolves into self-acceptance. (Art my own)

Ghostly

(This is not a new post, but I feel it is fitting for the time of the year. It still speaks to me as the author.)

Three Gifts

The decision has been made – it is time for us to move on to the next stage of life. The house will be sold and we shall look for a smaller, rental apartment. It hasn’t been easy coming to this conclusion, and it won’t be easy making the transition, but excitement is part of […]