Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
What I liked about starting a new school as a kid, was the opportunity to change my approach to life. In the early years, I was known as a tough girl, a fighter. I decided to leave her behind when I moved schools in 5th grade, and focus on being smart. Instead, I learned to […]
Read More“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat. “What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that […]
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We arrived Wednesday, our vehicle stuffed full, including a blow-up mattress for me, who would be camping out the remainder of the week. Ric would travel back and forth, staying at the RV, and I would manage deliveries, and oversee the laying of new floors. I set up in the living room (bedroom carpets were […]
Read More“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was. Likewise, I never imagined that home might be something I would miss.” – Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Home is on my brain this week, as we […]
Read MoreThe celebrations started last Sunday – dinner at a Greek restaurant with the family. It was a double celebration, Sloane having turned six just days before. Then we headed North to a friend’s cottage and had a meal rich with the summer’s harvest: corn on the cob, potatoes cooked with garlic on the barbecue, and […]
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At 10, I ruled the world – hard peddling up steep roads and letting go on the other side thrilling to speed and risk. At 20, I felt the pressure to define my life, marry, and be somebody – driven without much compassion At 30, I relaxed a bit, celebrated having birthed three children, confident […]
Read MoreBy the time you read this, my celebration will have begun. The family and I will have met for a casual dinner at a local restaurant, and I’ll be glowing from pride to think that two generations all started with me. Miraculous, isn’t it? Today, we are headed up north, where I will celebrate my […]
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To know I have accomplished something each day, is as important to me as the first cup of tea in the morning. It is the satisfaction of knowing I have contributed, that I have made a stamp (no matter how minute) on the passage of time. Prior to illness, I didn’t think much about accomplishment; […]
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Children understand the mechanics of accomplishment: take a risk, try and try again, and bask in the accolades that follow. As I grow older, I wonder at what point in life I lost that simple understanding. Now, as I watch my granddaughters, I feel compelled to regain some of that old spunk: tackle the new, […]
Read More“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Prior to […]
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One Woman's Quest II 