The Comfort of A Snowy Street

March 24th, 2018
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snow shoveling woman abc news

Mother Nature delivered a surprising day of snow last week.

On the second day of Spring, she decided to ignore the calendar and do what she wanted.

The nation’s Capital received about 5 inches of wet, slushy and heavy to shovel snow that initially was magical but then quickly became work.

In my neighborhood, I am lucky.  As soon as the snow flakes stop falling, everyone comes outside to shovel and when they are finished shoveling their property, they look to see who they can help in clearing away winter’s wonder.

As you can imagine, the men are very serious … Read More

Last Minute Gifts of Comfort & Joy

December 22nd, 2017
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It’s the Friday before Christmas and it’s a good bet that you may have finished buying gifts for everyone on your list. But there’s still time to think about buying one more gift. This year you may want to put a special twist on your usual gift giving by buying a present for a loved one or friend who has died. On the face of it, the idea may sound a little strange not really. I saw this wonderful idea recently tweeted by Grief Compass in a series called the 12 Holidays of Grief and thought I would share it… Read More

September 11, 2017

September 11th, 2017
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National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City “The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.” ~ Samuel Beckett, Waiting For Godot All of us carry images in our minds that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. I think it is safe to say that some of the images we will never forget include the events of September 11, 2001. While this horrific event and the thousands of lives lost during that tragic day happened… Read More

Hard Days Kind Actions

October 7th, 2016
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I was having one of those days recently when I was doing my best to think positively but it didn’t seem to be working out. My thoughts felt powerless as things disintegrated around me.  Stuck in traffic.  Rescheduled deadlines. Unscheduled meetings.  Extra phone calls to untangle things that had been screwed up.  No matter how hard I tried to stay calm and focused on turning things around, I couldn’t change it. While the meltdown continued to happen throughout my day, I tried to figure out how things started to go south.  I was trying to see in my mind’s eye… Read More

Awesome Life Stories

September 8th, 2016
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Learning to Surf The Waves of Life Each of us has a story to tell about how our particular and significant lives have developed and unfolded over the years and it can be surprising how others decide to reveal pieces of these awesome life stories to us. The more I listen to people of all ages and cultures, the more I realize that we all have something in our lives that at some point has taken the wind out of us and made us question how we can continue on. Sometimes people tell you about their difficult circumstances over a… Read More

Princess Diana — 19 Years

August 31st, 2016
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Revealing your unfiltered feelings and becoming vulnerable to another person is not something anyone does easily, particularly when you are brokenhearted and trying to talk about the loss of a treasured loved one. I bring up the subject of talking about the loss of a loved one for today is the 19th anniversary of the tragic death of Princess Diana, one of the most iconic women of our time and one of her beloved sons, Prince William, who is now a parent himself, recently had a tender conversation with a young boy who had recently experienced the loss of his… Read More

Do I Have To Go?

February 19th, 2016
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      When I was a young child, maybe eight or nine years old, my Mom said something to me about the meaning of paying your last respects to those people whom you care about that has stayed with me my whole life. She was talking to me about a family funeral that she and my Dad were getting ready to attend. I remember it as one of those conversations where I followed her from room to room as she talked.  This was not unusual given that she had six children to keep track of so if you wanted… Read More

Best Friends To The Rescue

January 22nd, 2016
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Random and spontaneous acts of kindness are never forgotten. The kind and generous acts that my friends have given to me throughout the years stand out as Technicolor slides in my memory bank. I will never forget the many wonderful gifts of spirit and self that have come my way when I was going through troubled times and when I am reminded of some of them I quickly think of the hospital visits, the long telephone calls and face to face chats, the home cooked meals, and especially the watching of my son when he was a child. I feel… Read More

Lodro’s Ah-Ha Insight

January 15th, 2016
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    In the Oscar-award winning movie, Dream Girls, an insightful song is featured about practicing patience.  The lyrics (written by Henry Krieger and Willie Reale) go as follows: I know you have questions Same ones as me How long has it been? How long will it be? When will come the morning To drive the night away? When will come the morning Of a brighter day? Patience, little sisters Patience, little brothers Patience, patience Take each other by the hand Finding patience is something I struggle with.  Constantly.  I put it right out there.  Finding the patience to handle… Read More