Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
“Have you seen any of those white-crested, pot-bellied snowbirds?” one man asked us in passing. “Don’t see that one on our list; will have to write a special report,” I responded, chuckling. We were participating in the Audubon annual Christmas Bird Count. Armed with mugs of hot coffee and tea, binoculars and cameras, and our […]
Read More
We came away with the expectation of adventure. We freed ourselves of material anchors and set sail into the unknown with openness, excitement, and a modicum of healthy trepidation. I knew we would encounter new landscapes, experience different foods and cultures, but I did not anticipate how travel would effect my experience of self. It […]
Read MoreI just want to hold my breath and make this day last forever! For the first day in I can’t remember how long, my illness has not been on the forefront of my attention. After snow a few days ago, Texas weather is back to more moderate temperatures, with a high of 22 degrees celsius. […]
Read More
FaceTime, phone calls and videos exchanged cannot replace in-person chats and hugs, especially when the recipients are grandchildren. I miss chasing eighteen-month-old Auggie around the house, or cuddling with Sloane to “watch something”, or exploring the million why’s of Finn. I miss my grown children, family and friends whom I value deeply. Homecoming, I know, […]
Read More
“No guarantee about this RV park,” Ric said as we pulled off the highway and entered the spaghetti bowl of roadways into San Antonio. Bit by bit we moved off the main thoroughfares onto city streets, and as we did the landscape changed drastically. Abandoned buildings with overgrown lots popped up between commercial and industrial […]
Read More
What I love about my husband is that he is a planner. Post Memphis, he had arranged for us to spend a few nights in Hot Springs, Arkansas, noted for its healing baths and spas. His timing was impeccable. We arrived on a Monday, and unfortunately one of the popular spa houses was closed the […]
Read More
The ‘misspent’ years of my youth were dedicated to sneaking into blues bars, underage, to catch the soulful music of Muddy Waters, Downchild Blues Band, and even B.B. King himself. I was hooked on blues, so the thought of visiting Memphis thrilled me. Beale Street was top of my list of ‘must sees’. To kick […]
Read More
“Is there a good place to eat around here? And how about a grocery store?” “Just up the road is the town. There is one Bar-b-que place, but it will be closed up by now – they sell out fast.” It was 3:00 p.m. “How about Mexican?” “There are five Mexican restaurants, three that are […]
Read More
“Don’t you get scared?” Yes and no, I think. Many things frighten me: a decline in my health, the loss of my spouse, something happening to one of my family members while I’m so far away from home. This is not what my mother is referring to, though. At 90, her view of the States […]
Read More
The English language is full of expressions that have more than one application. To back up – along with its many forms – is one of them. For example, as in my last post, backed up is a euphemism for excrement that is not following the protocols of natural processing – or in our case, […]
Read More
One Woman's Quest II 