Posts Tagged: family

A Cheeky Children’s Christmas Pageant

December 8th, 2014
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Many, many years ago, when the grandchildren in our family were actually children, my Mom and Dad would let them go wild in their linen closet and take any of the sheets, towels, bedspreads and table cloths they wanted to create costumes and then put on a home production of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.

For sure, it was quite a menagerie of costumes for shepherds, animals, Mary the mother of Jesus. Joseph the carpenter and Mary’s husband and of course, the youngest, no matter whether he or she was a baby or not, got to play the … Read More

4 Awesome Days

December 1st, 2014
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“When we make room for silence we make room for ourselves… silence invites the unknown, the untamed, the wild, the shy, the unfathomable- that which rarely has a chance to surface within us.” Gunilla Norris – Sharing Silence From Thanksgiving to yesterday.  These past four days have been amazing! I can’t believe how much I relaxed!  I hope you also had a chance to veg out and wind down over the Thanksgiving break! The holiday season is just starting and as crazy and fun as it can be to get ready for it, we all need a break from the… Read More

One Thankful Chick

November 27th, 2014
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When I sit down today to share Thanksgiving dinner with different generations of my family, I will be mindful of the many blessings I have received this year, blessings that have helped me find a healing path and blessings that definitely make me one thankful chick. In turn, I hope your blessings this Thanksgiving are also bountiful as you spend time relaxing and having fun with your loved ones. And while blessings are the focus of today’s holiday, I am still one of those people imagining a chair at the Thanksgiving table wishing a deceased loved one might be sitting… Read More

Changing Up Holiday Rituals

November 24th, 2014
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My parents, some of my siblings and some of my in-laws flew to Ireland this past Saturday and will be spending Thanksgiving this year in different  country. It should fun and interesting and certainly different for them as well as the rest of my family for now we are changing up the places where we will go to celebrate Thanksgiving this year and who we will have a chance to see on the day.  I must say that given the fact that we are a large boisterous family, most of us do try to stay flexible about the different ways… Read More

Hope For The Holidays

November 19th, 2014
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These are challenging times that we live in and for those who are in the midst of grief, the arrival of the holidays can make life a lot more challenging. Thanksgiving is next week and decorations and other holiday reminders are already popping up everywhere.  You may already be dreading this time of year because you know the holidays can be an emotional minefield.  Reminders of your loved one can sometimes present themselves when you least expect it. It can be a song, a smell, the house where you are celebrating or even a story that someone may tell.  It… Read More

She’s Come Undone — Fantastic Fiction

November 17th, 2014
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I am always on the lookout for books about how people deal with adversity and in “She’s Come Undone,” the incredible writer Wally Lamb introduces readers to a resilient and unforgettable character by the name of Dolores Price. This is one of those books that I have heard friends enthusiastically talk about for a long time and I have always intended to read it.  Well, I finally took the time to read it for myself and “She’s Come Undone” is truly a great read! This is a story of love and hope and the importance of friendship in dealing with… Read More

Back To The Garden

November 7th, 2014
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My son and I recently spent a Sunday afternoon meandering around the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia and it reminded me once again of the importance of taking time to immerse yourself in the calming and healing beauty of nature. I was not particularly stressed out when we entered the spectacular gardens but after walking around among the themed gardens and gentle water fountains for about ten minutes, I found myself slowing down and suddenly stopping on the path to take a deep breath and truly look and listen to where I was at that moment.  We sat… Read More

The Infectious Laughter of Tom Magliozzi

November 5th, 2014
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Everybody needs a good laugh and I know I could always get one every Saturday morning when I turned my radio on to NPR’s award-winning program, “Car Talk.” You might think it’s unusual for a woman to be listening to a program where two guys talk for about an hour about cars and their problems.  But for me, “Car Talk” was pure entertainment.  Oh my goodness, did they know how to have a good time! Tom and Ray understood the power of humor, that the ability to laugh at life and yourself is a tremendous resource for binding people together… Read More

Moving & Grooving

November 3rd, 2014
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This past weekend I spent a lot of time in the car driving to visit my brothers and my parents on the Eastern Shore.  The weather vacillated between pouring rain, strong wind gusts and then short periods of sunshine which were beautiful but not warm.  The beautiful and sometimes scary Bay Bridge, which crosses over the Chesapeake Bay, even had a wind advisory! Needless to say I didn’t get a chance for much exercise and I am feeling it today.  Kinda loogie; kinda out of it. Physical movement gives me more energy and when I make the effort to walk… Read More