Yearly Archives:: 2013

That’s What Friends Are For

April 26th, 2013
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This is a beautiful and moving story about a husband and wife and their love and respect for one another. Sadly, the time recently arrived for one of them to say good-bye to the other. In the following column by The Washington Post’s Courtland Milloy, he writes of the spirit of the union between Washington Post reporter Lynne Duke and Washington Post editor Phillip Dixon in the essential phrase “sometimes yin and yang, sometimes nitro and glycerin.” Milloy is an awesome friend, doing what friends do best, offering emotional support and condolences to Phillip Dixon, and at the same time… Read More

Lean In To Laughter

April 25th, 2013
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One of my brothers has a wacky way of making a joke exactly when it’s needed. His timing and dry delivery are impeccable!  Just when the situation is starting to get either too serious or is totally out of hand, I can always depend on my brother to throw an exclamation point into the conversation.   It’s not an easy thing to do.  There’s a fine line between funny and unfunny and once you cross over into unfunny, it’s hard to undo and recover your mojo. I’ve delivered some whoppers that have crashed on delivery but I don’t try to… Read More

Surfing Emotions

April 24th, 2013
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Photo Courtesy of Secrets of The Sea Feelings are much like waves,   we can’t stop them from coming   but we can choose which ones to surf.   ~ Jonatan Martensson… Read More

Widowed Fathers Reaching Out

April 23rd, 2013
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I know a few widowed mothers and have great respect for how they handle the role of single parent.I don’t know any widowed fathers so I have always been curious about how they juggle the demands of raising children and handling their work careers. I imagine that a family member helps them; maybe a mother, a sister or even a brother.  Or maybe the fathers had already hired someone to help them when their wives sadly became too ill or were weakened by treatments. But after reading the insightful New York Times story below, I found that widowed fathers and… Read More

Earth Day — Big Yellow Taxi

April 22nd, 2013
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Today is Earth Day and I give thanks to Mother Nature for her endless gifts. As we turn our focus on cleaning up and protecting the environment, events in Washington, DC (cleaning up the Anacostia River) and communities around the globe are being held today to remind us that our natural resources are precious and finite and shouldn’t be taken for granted.  When we take better care of Mother Earth, she takes better care of us, giving us tranquil beauty and continual inspiration. Nature also has the incredible capability to heal us: the fragrance of a flower, the cleansing sound… Read More

Your Inner Beauty

April 20th, 2013
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My son and his cousins were recently going through a box of family pictures that were taken decades ago.  One of my sisters and I were in the same room with them as they passed the pictures around and made comments about each picture as they looked at it. You know the kind of pictures I am talking about; the pictures we all take at family weddings, baptisms, birthdays and first days of school.  The milestones in all of our lives. There was a lot of talking and laughing going on and my sister and I were only casually listening… Read More

Gabby & Mark

April 19th, 2013
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I have written about Gabby Giffords in previous posts because she is a source of inspiration to me. She is the very definition of courage and resilience and lives her life with a great deal of passion.  Despite being shot in the head over two years ago, she continues to move forward and remain in public life because she wants to make the world a safer place. Gun control is Gabby’s top priority and today’s post focuses on just part of the dialogue surrounding this issue. Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly With her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, Gabby has… Read More

Possessions R Us

April 18th, 2013
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Though memories of a loved one who has passed on continue to be vivid and stored forever in a special place in my memory bank, isn’t it incredible when one single possession can have the power to bring back all the complications of your relationship with that person? For me, it is a red and blue knit cap with a New York Giants logo sewed on the front. My husband treasured that hat and wore it every day that the temperature allowed.  The year after my husband died, my father gave me tickets to the NY Giants-Washington Redskins game at… Read More