I drive by our town’s carnival and feel the tug. I smell the popcorn and hear the tinny music. I see families, teenagers, and the elderly making their annual pilgrimage. Memories take me back. And that’s when I realize this event has seen me through six major life stages… The Small Child – At 5, […]
Have you ever had the urge to get away by yourself? Just luxuriate in your own company? I recently spent a weekend alone, which was…okay…incredible. And afterwards, I realized it helped in 8 vital ways… First, I didn’t have to go far. I travelled thirty minutes to a beautiful seaside inn on Long Island Sound. […]
I came upon my wedding picture recently, taken June 7th, 1980. My husband Randy and I were 23 years old. We knew nothing much except we loved each other. But looking at this young bride, I gave her kudos for one thing. She knew how to select a mate. To that end, I have 8 thoughts for any […]
Anyone who reads this blog knows I write about my Dad… a lot. He’s always on my mind since he suffers from late-stage Parkinson’s disease. And yet there’s another person I’m always thinking of, who keeps the machinery of my father’s world moving like clockwork, who’s as necessary, irreplaceable and vital as the sun is to the earth. And that’s […]
Wait. I’ve been a Mom almost twenty five years? How did that happen? One moment my boys are sipping juice boxes. The next they’re playing Beer Pong in the basement. Some things I expected like that maternal tug when I see my little boys now grown men with lots of facial hair. But here are six things I […]
The other day I was in my neighborhood grocery store when I encountered a tall, middle-aged African-American man stocking shelves. He had a cart full of product and part of it blocked my way. I looked at him, smiling, saying, “Excuse me.” He turned and gazed at me, his eyes hard, face tight and unsmiling. […]
I pick up the electric shaver. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I say to my Dad. I’ve never shaved a man before. My 82-year-old father sits in yet another hospital room, one of many he’s stayed in lately for symptoms of late-stage Parkinson’s disease. He’s unable to use his hands except for the most […]
Ever know you shouldn’t do something, but do it anyway? This happened to me recently when I happened to walk by my son watching a spooky movie about a possessed, haunted doll. I knew not to sit down. I’d remember that doll’s evil black eyes…and the way she could make her rocking chair move at […]
Lately I’ve had trouble shutting out the world. I’ve been longing to escape my over-fed, too-busy brain, this brain that can’t stop THINKING. Each day I’m bombarded with not only my problems, but the planet’s. I’m hooked into too many devices with too much multi-tasking. Yet the other day, I happened to watch a video […]
