Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
“Be careful of the habits you make,” my father used to lecture, cigarette in one hand, whiskey in the other. “They will either make of you a slave or a master.” Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about, and I hated that his sermons were always: “Do what I say, not […]
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The snow has been falling all day, filling in the roads behind the plow’s efforts. I am a bit of wreck as I write this. Tomorrow, I am planning a surprise party for Ric’s 70th birthday. The hall is booked, and I’ve delegated all the pieces, but the guest list is shrinking as people are […]
Read MoreI adopted my father’s rage at a young age, and learned to wrestle with the best of them, typically boys, ’cause Father said never hit a girl. Most days, I’d return from school with debris in matted hair and torn stockings. Mother would shake her head, muttering: “No one will ever love you.” I heard: […]
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Life presents challenges and I stumble to keep up. Chronic illness continues to form the backdrop of my life, so it becomes the baseline for any actions I take. Ric and I made a commitment to our health and our community this year, and that means that I have been more physically active than usual. […]
Read MoreRumination is one of my fortes. I get something stuck in my head and it will spin there nonstop if I let it, even disrupting sleep. It happened recently with one of our daughters. I took something she did personally, and blew it out of proportion, convincing myself that there was no hope for our […]
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Soon, he’ll ramp up the Christmas tunes, my Santa-husband. I’ll be putting the last touches on the table setting, and stirring the soup pot. Even though it is daylight, our festive lights will be blazing. We are celebrating with family today. First, I will wrap up this week’s challenge, anticipating no fuel left in my […]
Read MoreThis week’s challenge was inspired by a new follower of mine on Twitter. His name is John Tiller, and he hails from Manchester, UK. After listening to his pinned track: “Battle Ready”, I promised to share his work, so here it is: https://johntiller.bandcamp.com/track/battle-ready John’s Twitter account is @itsjohntiller. Music is the focus this week. Share […]
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SimpleAlluringTemporalInspiringSweetFickleAttainableChosenTempoIntuitiveOftenNeglected. It’s been a week. Happy to have made it to Sunday, still breathing. Thank you dear blogging friends for keeping me sane with your wonderful posts and comments. Please take a moment to look back, if you missed any: Reverie in ReverseHeart to HeartReena SaxenaAWISEWOMANSJOURNEYSharing ThoughtsPHOTOGRAPHY OCDPoetryPaletteparallaxone letter UPSgeoilStuff and what if… See you […]
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“Bah, Humbug!” Ric snarls at me as I shake my head when he reaches for a box of candy canes to throw in our cart. We are both on diets, and the Moms have clearly stated to keep the sugary treats to a minimum. “We don’t need them!” I do sound like Scrooge, and it’s […]
Read More“The greatest lesson you can teach her is moderation.” These words were spoken by a psychic medium I visited while pregnant with my second child. I had no way of knowing at the time how prophetic they would be. Child #2 was indeed given to extremes, and moderation was a lesson we both needed to […]
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One Woman's Quest II 