Years ago, when my husband and I had breakfast at a diner with our daughter, Sara, and our grandchildren, Lauren & Ethan, we’d play “connect the dots” on the back of a paper placemat that Sara would make a series of dots on. In “Dots and Boxes,” around since the late 1800s, players add horizontal […]
Category Archives: Aha! Moments
You’re embracing life if you sit down with a cup of tea, coffee (or a glass of wine) and stare out a window, remembering or imagining different versions of you that lit up your spirit or spilled joy into your heart. You’re incredible if you have been “in it alone,” whether parent or caregiver, but kept moving […]
In our lifetimes, most of us wear many hats: parent, grandparent, sister, brother, friend, politician, nurse, writer, partner, artist, banker, chef—the list can be never-ending. What are your roles? Are there many in each day? Under those hats, we sometimes put on masks: serious, happy, fulfilled, peaceful, available, generous, confident, approachable, knowledgeable—this list, too, goes […]
Today is my grandson Ethan’s sixteenth birthday. It seems like it was just yesterday when he was born. I remember holding him in the NICU, praying for Sara, my daughter, and Ethan to be healthy (Thank You, God, they were.) Years have flown by. Ethan plays basketball and soccer, has wonderful friends, is intelligent, creative, witty, and […]
I woke up much too early again this morning, but, in an interesting twist, it was positive because I could make my tea before we were without power. Once there was no electricity, the heating pad couldn’t be turned on to help with the arm I hurt (unintentionally, of course); I didn’t throw my daily […]
Sometimes, I feel like I’m in perpetual “Groundhog Day” (like the 1993 movie Bill Murray starred in). Each set of twenty-four hours seems like a repetition of the one before—learned patterns, a sense of life impotence, the same mundanity or routine. Yet, lying in bed this morning at 6:00, awoken by a jarring alarm, I […]
Awareness and acknowledgment may seem inconsequential, but, in reality, they make a significant difference in our planet’s energy. I’ve always been mindful of sharing what I think if it’s something positive and will walk up to perfect strangers and compliment their hair or outfit or the cuteness of their child and never once has it not elicited a […]
Yesterday, the faith community I’m part of dedicated a new space. It’s not a traditional church; it’s not even a building we own because our philosophy has always been to use our resources to create a safe place where love is paramount, a sense of community is critical, and we can be genuine with each […]
Expectations speak to desired outcomes like: trust, belief, safety, possibility, anticipation or, looking forward. They’re sometimes an assumption, but often they’re deeply rooted longings bolstered by the faith that something petitioned for or desperately needed will come to fruition. What are your great expectations? I asked myself, “what do I desire to create or achieve with this year that’s […]
Part 1: Sleepless in Emmaus It was 4:40 on this last day of 2022 when I woke up. Thankfully, the early rising wasn’t because of a full-blown nightmare like I had the previous night, where it physically felt like I had a heart attack. Frantic and powerless, I was pushing back against a reality I […]
On this day after Christmas, the house is silent—too quiet, honestly—with only Vero (our empathic little rescue dog) and me sitting in the library as the heater whirs on, staving off the winter that won’t officially end until March 20th. The past two days were a whirlwind—leaving our home for church on Christmas Eve with […]
Stories about Christmas abound. Some of them are filled with the sadness of missing a loved one. Others recall times, when we were far from home or Christmas didn’t play out the way we painted it in our idyllic imaginations. Mostly, however, the stories we share are the happiest ones. This is one of those […]
This morning, I woke up again with a mental Christmas “still to-do list” that rivals most of those I make. I backed out of the garage and headed down the cul-de-sac, turning left onto St. Peter’s Road. As I round the corner, I again see “The Bicycle Tree.” This isn’t a tiny faux tree adorned […]
A few weeks ago, I unpacked Christmas. In the boxes were fragile glass ornaments, precious works of art with”best Nana ever,” and the little drummer boys my daughters, Sara and Erin, made with their grandmother more than thirty years ago. There were gifts from friends and heartfelt pieces my Mom gave me. Some are decades […]
Life’s fragility—much too fleeting or painstakingly stagnant, joyfully overflowing or devastatingly lonely—plays out in this space between human life and death. Sometimes, lines have been rehearsed for decades; often, we’re caught off guard, blindsided by the swiftness of change that was never expected or invited. We can be like shooting stars—tiny specs of dust glowing […]
The pear tree I planted almost two decades ago is heavy with fruit. Most years, I don’t thin it out as I should, and when I walked outside this morning, I noticed the tree branches weighted down, scattered cores from the deer that feast each night at her base. A peach tree planted the same […]
There was a man who, long ago, created a life filled with unbridled joy and an awareness of the universe’s amazingness. Nevertheless, as in many stories, a shift took place; it started slowly but kept building into a flame consuming the truth until he didn’t recognize his value, his verve, or the pain that was […]
Part I I woke up this beautiful summer morning from a bad dream; thankfully, not a full-blown nightmare which I have too often. These sleep-state images were about being in a terrible accident and waking up paralyzed, my ability forever at the mercy of a wheelchair; my life abruptly halted. In the dream, I was […]
After another night of bad dreams, I woke up tired and disoriented. I called the new day to me, trying to shake off the dark, pulling myself together (literally curling up in a fetal position), then getting myself together emotionally. I’ve never understood the calamity my brain creates as I attempt to sleep when I […]
A few years ago, as I sat writing at my desk before the sun rose, I inaudibly heard “look up” and saw that sections of the library’s cathedral ceiling were, falling! My first step was emptying the room. Art, photos, gifts, precious mementos from my daughters and grandchildren, and hundreds of books (yep, I counted […]
This morning—at 5:13 in our Northern Hemisphere—marked the summer solstice, one of my favorite days because it marks the day with the longest organic luminosity. (Summer is also my favorite season.) As I think about this light, I am aware of all the darkness on our planet—this celestial body rotating on its axis, orbiting around […]
Headlines, primarily negative, race across my screen as I start today’s post on “Change.” It seems—more than ever—that our world is truly broken. (Perhaps it’s just me.) Change is burdensome for many humans. Pre COVID-19, it seemed as if many of us were somewhat complacent, buoyed by what we considered the rhythm of our blessed […]
One beautiful morning, I turned onto a recently repaved, free of debris road without potholes typical of many thoroughfares with scorching and freezing weather. It was a peaceful drive made better by the smoothness of the street. (It’s often the little things that make us smile.) Significant issues must be remediated before laying new asphalt, creating a pothole, ruts, […]
When I ponder the word “Joy,” much comes to mind: the people I love most and all those who bring cheer (or bonafide festivity) into our world, the humans who make us smile or lift us up or make us better, the sound of laughter, the innocence of a newborn baby, the heartbeat of love, […]
After another night of bad dreams, I woke up tired and disoriented, trying to shake off the dark, pulling myself together, literally curling into a fetal position. I don’t understand the crazy that goes on in my mind. Sleep should be regenerating, not a fear-filled marathon. I’m amazed to hear friends say, “I lie down at […]
peace full home®—intentional living 