Wow! Sometimes all you need is an unscheduled block of time and the patience of a friend to hold your hand while you learn something new.
Whether we are ready or not, life brings us changes every day. Some put us on a new road and others can be annoying potholes and puddles. And then there are the exciting and fun changes that also come into our lives. I don’t mind a certain amount of change. But the stress-o-meter goes out of control for me when too much change happens at the same time Still, I tell myself: change is … Read More
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… 
When I am feeling vulnerable from making a mistake or stressed out from a work project or just plain personally overloaded by my life, I try to find something that will feed my inner resources. Something that will feed my soul.
If something goes wrong or becomes overwhelming or things in general don’t feel as though they are in sync in a good way, then I know I need to find a sweet spot where I can take a break and treat myself to something positive. Not anything big or expensive. Just something that makes the clouds break and brings… 
I’m still here.
These are words of determination and strength. They come from facing up to a cold hard truth about a new reality that life has given us to handle. It could be the loss of a loved one or an unexpected and tragic diagnosis, accident or attack. The person saying these words is often trying to tell you that they are still searching or have found a new way to live through the pain and suffering of this change in their life.
I’m still here.
I used these words many times after my husband died. For me they… 
We all have sat through graduation ceremonies that we thought would never end.
The reading of the names of the graduates seems to go on and on and I usually zone out until I hear the name of the person that I care about. Then I suddenly pay attention, take a few pictures and clap and yell for the graduate I know.
But as mundane and routine as a graduation ceremony can sometimes be, think about the families behind each one of those names and the hours of work and the years of love and constructive support that went into… 
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… 
“Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, ‘I’m with you, kid. Let’s go.'”
~ Dr. Maya Angelou
Let’s go indeed! Did Dr. Maya Angelou take every opportunity to grab life by the lapels? You bet she did!
Every day she grabbed life by the lapels and the seat pants and she held on for dear life, inspiring and showing us through her writings, speeches and screen presence the true passions of her life: civil rights, being kind, education and striving to do the best in whatever you are doing.
Resilience, beauty and grace; thy name… 
Angry grief is not pretty; especially the white hot, messy anger that Richard Martinez is feeling.
Uncomfortable as it is to watch, everything Martinez is feeling is normal and human. He is expressing the rage and the sorrow he feels right now at the tragic loss 0f his son. We aren’t used to watching someone freely express their unfiltered, raw anger about the loss of a loved one. Our culture sends us the message that it’s better to keep a lid on it. Don’t emote all over the place.
Yet Martinez has experienced a shock, a deep loss that is… 
Memorial Day signals the beginning the summer. Time to uncover the grills, open the windows, plant some flowers, enjoy the warmer temperatures and find a place to display the patriotic red white and blue of our beautiful American flag.
I love the design of the American flag and never tire of seeing it. Whether flying on a flag pole, painted on canvas, magnatized on a car bumper, planted in the ground or tatooed on human skin, the stars and stripes, the red, white and blue of it, always makes me think twice about being lucky enough to be born in… 
