#FamilyNatitude

June 23rd, 2014
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Hi Resilient Readers!  Weekends go by waaaaaaay too fast don’t they?

Hopefully your weekend was just one big stress free zone!

Saturday night my son and I went to a Nationals baseball game for his upcoming birthday.  A big shout out to one of my fantastic sisters and her husband for tickets and PARKING — which is even better than tickets!!!  Our seats were great, third level behind home plate.  Here was our primo view of the game:

Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC

Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC

It’s a beautiful stadium and it’s well run, so if you ever get a chance to visit, … Read More

Daddy’s Way

June 15th, 2014
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I wonder what our lives would be like today if he were still alive? This question keeps rolling over in my mind as I stand in a stationary store, browsing through the Father’s Day cards, trying to find a card to give my wonderful 87-year-old Dad but also thinking of the emptiness of the day for my son whose father died when he was thirteen years old. Of course there is no way to know what life would be like if my husband, my son’s father, was still alive and with us, but that doesn’t stop my meandering mind from… Read More

An R&R Weekend

June 2nd, 2014
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This past weekend the weather in my part of the world was picture perfect and I took advantage of it by visiting my wonderful son who lives in Richmond and also helping my talented sister and friends sell their crafts at a local fair. Oh my goodness unplugged, unfiltered, unscheduled time just feeds my soul to the max! On a bridge overlooking the James River & the city of Richmond It was a weekend of forgetting about my usual chores and errands and just spending time with people I  love and care about.  My feeling is there will always be… Read More

Family Time

March 31st, 2014
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It’s that time of year in my family. Time to celebrate the birthdays of my parents who are in their 80’s.  My Mom and Dad’s birthdays land on the calendar exactly a week apart so in the last few years my siblings and I have started celebrating their birthdays together in the interest of harmony, world peace and all that is holy. We know we are blessed to have our parents still with us and we definitely don’t take it for granted.  Not for one minute.  But sometimes it can be tricky in making sure that each birthday receives the… Read More

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

March 17th, 2014
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If it’s March, it must be that time of year again when everything green is up for grabs and my family is never embarrassed to wear as much of it as possible. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all and I’m sure you’re planning to do it up proud! My large and boisterous family gathered yesterday before the snow hit the Washington, DC area to celebrate our Irish ancestry and all the stops were pulled out for a grand time. So in the tradition of my Celtic tribe, it was an afternoon of irreverent jokes and imitations, lots of food and… Read More

Dorothy Flies Over Kansas

March 11th, 2014
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If I live to be 92 years young, I hope I am as adventurous and free spirited as Dorothy Ellis! She is fearless! Dorothy was in hospice care when she told her family that she wanted to fly over her home in Kansas in a powered parachute that she had watched many times in the open sky as she gazed from her window. Her family and her hospice nurse put their worries about her age and her health aside and to their credit they made Dorothy’s wish come true!  I love her reaction at the end of the flight!  Sadly,… Read More

Kickstarting Change

January 6th, 2014
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Hey there!  I hope you had a great and productive weekend or perhaps it was a weekend chock full of fun! Mine was full, but it was full of running interference for family members and in particular trying to understand the emotional needs of one family member.  I keep reminding myself that life and it’s unpleasant conflicts are all about love, love, love! In the midst of this whirlwind weekend of emotions, I found the following quote which I felt was insightful and particularly timely: “And that is how change happens. One gesture.  One person. One moment at a time.”                        … Read More

Family Dynamics

December 27th, 2013
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I’m sure I’m stating the obvious when I say that every family has its own dynamic and its own way of relating to each other and I think that this special form of communication developed within the family over the years is revealed in its barest form on a holiday. Let me tell you about mine.  Please?  Okay.  At least a little bit. Take 15 adults, 8 grandchildren in their teens and twenties, 6 children under the age of six and one newborn baby and put them all together in close quarters for a number of hours and what do… Read More

It’s A Wonderful Life

December 23rd, 2013
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This time of year I am always on the lookout for when “It’s Wonderful Life,” is airing on television. I could buy the DVD of this holiday classic but that would take the spontaneity out of it for me.  I like the surprise of turning on the television and finding it already on, or in the case of this past Friday evening, I caught it right at the very beginning. I know that it’s not a diverse film, I know that many things that happen in this film are dated and wouldn’t be said or wouldn’t happen today but I… Read More