Yearly Archives:: 2012

New Orleans Deserves A Break

August 29th, 2012
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My son drywalling in New Orleans

The people who live in the magical city of New Orleans know about resilience.  In fact, Webster’s dictionary should probably publish a picture of the city of New Orleans next to the word “resilience” to add depth to the word’s definition.

Residents of New Orleans have proved over and over that they do have an incredible inner strength that gives them the “can-do” attitude to forge ahead and bounce back from natural disasters, the worst of which was Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and now is Hurricane Isaac.
The rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina … Read More

Zen Me

August 28th, 2012
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  Zen Garden Number One “I wait for time to heal the pain and  raise me to my feet once again — so that I can start a new path, my own path, the one that will make me whole again.”                                                       ~ Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II Zen Garden Number Two… Read More

Nature Girl In Search Of Healing

August 27th, 2012
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Courtesy of The Magic Onions I love this picture! Serene and peaceful, can’t you feel the healing power of the flowers?  The first time I saw it, I mentally slipped into the photograph and felt the aura of  its calming vibe.  I could practically smell the beautiful flowers in the shape of a majestic sun surrounding the Nature Girl. Ommmmmmmm.  The healing is starting and it can happen for all of us but we need to be patient.  Healing takes time.  The most important thing about restoring your mental and emotional health after the loss of a loved one is… Read More

The Night of The Cicada

August 25th, 2012
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I am happy for the arrival of today, for yesterday was a day when I was trying to follow my own advice about staying positive, breaking down a problem and letting it go when you can’t do anything more. For me, I get stressed when I am thrown into a situation at work and expected to solve it quickly.  I can work under pressure but I don’t really like it.  I prefer to see the problem ahead of time and work on it in increments. But that isn’t what life is always about.  Untangling the problem takes time and sometimes… Read More

Street Sense

August 24th, 2012
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Martin Walker While buying produce today at the FRESHFarm market near the White House, I met a homeless man named Martin, who was selling newspapers and waiting to go to a drug and alcohol treatment program in West Virginia. I had seen Martin on previous trips to the market but didn’t say more than “Hi!” or smile at him.  Today, I bought a newspaper from him and we started talking.  Martin told me that as a vendor for Street Sense newspapers he is similiar to a self-employed subcontractor.  That means that when I buy a newspaper I am investing in … Read More

Welcome To Today!

August 23rd, 2012
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A good friend from high school who I am now friends with on Facebook (Yay!), posted the below message on her page. I found it to be so hopeful that I wanted to share it with you! Today is a new day, a clean slate and an opportunity to start or finish or say or write something that you didn’t get a chance to do yesterday. There is always hope that things will get better.  I truly believe it!!  Hang in there my sweet readers if you find you are going through a rough patch. Here’s a toast to today. … Read More

No More School Days

August 22nd, 2012
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Me and My Son Lately, I’ve been feeling as though I forgot to do something and I keep trying to pinpoint what it is. The other day I was driving around doing errands, letting my mind wander and I think I finally figured it out. This is the first time in 16 years that I am not helping my son get ready for school. I was in a big box store over the weekend and a separate section had been set up just for school supplies.  I watched the parents with their children buying notebooks (No! Not that kind!  I… Read More

Jesuit Motivation

August 21st, 2012
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When my son was in the midst of deciding where he wanted to go to college, Fordham University was near the top of his list.  But he was stuck between Fordham and another school and couldn’t make a decision. Trying to help him, I played the role of Devil’s Advocate:  “You are getting ready to graduate from a Jesuit high school and now you are thinking of attending a Jesuit university?  Aren’t you tired of the Jesuits?  Don’t you want to get out of the box and spread your wings in a different academic atmosphere?” My son didn’t miss a… Read More

On Your Own Time

August 20th, 2012
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Slowly but surely, I have found that the passage of time does help you gain inner strength and perspective as you try to adjust to an altered life after the loss of a loved one.  Your emotions are not as a raw as they were in the beginning of the grieving process and eventually you start to feel that you have more control over the sadness and confusion concerning your loss. It just doesn’t happen as fast as everyone else wants it to happen. Unfortunately, our go-go society is not very tolerant of understanding how much time it really and… Read More