Snowy Surprise

January 24th, 2013
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I went to the kitchen window early this morning and expected to see the bare concrete of the sidewalk and instead saw snow covering the ground and all of the surrounding cars and trees.
I had heard some talk of snow coming to the Washington, DC area yesterday on the news but the forecasters are usually so far off the mark that I didn’t pay attention to their prediction. What do you know? The weather people were actually right this time.
So instead of opening the front door and walking outside in my bare feet to grab the newspaper off … Read More

Michael J. Fox’s Morning

January 23rd, 2013
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Good Morning, Morning. I have a mindless routine in the morning, the same routine that I follow each work day.  I am never really ready to do anything until I have had at least one cup of hot tea.  I think I definitely take for granted that I can get myself going in the morning without taking any medication and without dealing with a physical handicap. Unfortunely, that’s not true for everyone.  That concept was really brought home to me after reading a short excerpt from in this month’s Reader’s Digest.  Always Looking Up, is the title of a book… Read More

Wishing You Serene Thoughts. . .

January 22nd, 2013
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Look Well To This Day Look well to this day, For it and it alone is life. In its brief course Lie all the essence of your existence: The Glory of Growth The Satisfaction of Achievement The Splendor of Beauty For yesterday is but a dream, And tomorrow is but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, And every tomorrow a vision of hope.… Read More

I Think I Can

January 18th, 2013
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Happy Friday Everyone!! It feels good to reach the end of a work week, especially when we have a three day week-end in front of us.  Most of us will not have to go to work on Monday since it is Inauguration Day, the day when President Obama is sworn into his second term in the White House. Whether you agree with President Obama’s politics or not, I think everyone would agree that it takes courage and perseverence to have a dream and then set goals necessary to try and make that dream happen. Big dreams or small dreams, I… Read More

A Year of Blessings

January 17th, 2013
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How Have You Been Blessed? I know we are in the middle of January, but I just saw this idea on a website called The Honest Company (www.honest.com) and I wanted to share it right away.  Hopefully, this idea is new for you too! Here’s the basic idea:  At the beginning of a new year, start writing down blessings that happen to you throughout the year and put them in a container.  On New Year’s Eve or Day 2014, you can empty out the jar and read all about the year of blessings that you had! The Honest Company’s blog… Read More

Revisiting Maurice Sendak

January 16th, 2013
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Maurice Sendak is known as an internationally renowned prize-winning children’s book author and illustrator but he also has a message for adults too. When children read his most famous book, “Where The Wild Things Are,” they run around and play as if they are monsters, just like the ones in Sendak’s book.  Spontaneously and instantly, children enter Sendak’s world with love and abandon. Adults may want to join the children in their play but their “adultness” sometimes holds them back.  “Oh, that’s a child’s book” or “I can’t play like that” or “I shouldn’t play like that” are some of… Read More

That’s What Friends Are For

January 15th, 2013
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This past weekend I met up with three of my best girlfriends to celebrate my recent birthday. I have known these special women for decades and we have been through a lot with each other and for each other.  Birthdays, weddings, funerals, break-ups, new jobs, new houses, vacations — we have been through it all! The beauty of being friends for a long time is that you don’t have to explain everything.  One person can mention a certain situation or a person’s name and we know right away what that means.  We know the things that make us laugh and… Read More

An Honest Dialogue

January 14th, 2013
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After a loss, people often feel that they have no resources. They feel they have no one to talk to about the extreme pain they are feeling. A little over two years ago, I launched Cry, Laugh, Heal as a place where people could go to read and discuss grieving and say to themselves, “I’m not alone.  Someone else gets it.” Because in the end, no one ever wants to feel alone. Since starting the blog I have written about grief and about the crucial process of trying to put the pieces of your life back together after the death… Read More

Cooking for Children With Cancer

January 11th, 2013
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Danielle Cook Navidi (in apron) Photo Courtesy of Georgetown University Hospital If you ever doubted that one person can make a difference, then please meet Danielle Cook Navidi. Navidi is a loving mother totally committed to the idea that she could cook healthy food for her then 11-year-old son, Fabien Navidi-Kasmai, diagnosed and receiving treatment for Stage III Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  His taste buds were shot, he couldn’t digest his favorite foods and sadly, he would go for days without eating. Navidi reminds me of many mothers I know who are steadfast in their beliefs about what can help their children… Read More