Simplicity: A Noble Quest

Originally posted on One Woman's Quest:
At thirty-one, I had to learn to change my approach to life, because the old way wasn’t working. The old way put me at the center of the family (even though I was fifth born), listening to and attempting to resolve every family issue:   Do you think your…

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Another Chapter Closes

The house creaks and cracks with such ferociousness, I am unable to sleep.  Perhaps it does not like the starkness of bare walls, the absence of furniture, the finality of boxes stacked and sealed.  It is my last night here – just myself, a king sized bed and a complaining house. So much has changed […]

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Raccoon Capers

I recognized the thump that had startled me as I was settling down to sleep:  it was the unmistakable sound of something trying to get into the outside waste receptacle. Damn, I cursed aloud, I forgot about the garbage. The day had been spent in celebration of a granddaughter’s fifth birthday, and I’d collected all […]

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What I’ve Learned From Trees

Originally posted on One Woman's Quest:
Meditating on the majestic beauty of the trees outside my window, I come to recognize something about myself. I cannot help but think that even though they are symbols of quiet strength, trees are not without their own vulnerabilities. Acts of Nature, or even human folly can bring…

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Criticism Be Gone!

Originally posted on One Woman's Quest:
I was forty before I could finally ask my mother about her constant criticism of me growing up.   We were alone together, in the car, driving out of town.  I had her undivided attention. “Help me to understand, something,” I prefaced the conversation.  “When I was young, you…

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Is Abundance Just a State of Mind?

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Mom likes to muse.  “If you can handle that, you can handle anything.” When a marriage of seventeen years fell apart, Mom said:  “There is always Welfare.” I didn’t want to accept the ‘worst’ for my life, and so I fought to stay afloat, and rather than succumb to […]

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