Old Movies

March 24th, 2014
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When Sundays are overcast and chilly, as yesterday was, I love to gather the blankets on the sofa and watch old movies.  At first I feel a little guilty about laying on the couch, vegging and doing nothing but then I remind myself that I’m not really doing nothing.
I work very hard during the week at my full-time job, plus I have other family responsibilities that I’m always trying to squeeze in here and there.  So when I find a day to watch a movie from beginning to end, I try to stop and enjoy it for the healing … Read More

The Quiet Gift

December 11th, 2013
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“Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention […] a loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than most well-intentioned words.”             ~ Rachel Naomi Remen… Read More

Two True Friends

August 21st, 2013
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Knowing that I have at least one person in my corner, always supporting me as a true friend, makes life feel less scary and full of many more possibilities.I can almost bear anything if I know my friends are holding my hands and understanding what I am trying to do and say.Friends for life, friends until the very end, this is the unique gift that Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe gave to each other. “Just Kids” is a beautifully, beautifully written memoir by Smith.  You may know of Patti Smith from her infamous Horses album and also from her magical… Read More

Back to Kindergarten

June 19th, 2013
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My Dad is the kind of guy who is constantly ripping and cutting articles out of newspapers and magazines and mailing them to people he thinks will appreciate what he has found.  It drives my Mom crazy that he does this before she has even had a chance to read the paper or the magazine.  But after 60 years of marriage, my father continues to clip away in his own little world. When I saw my Dad this past weekend for Father’s Day, he had a column that he had recently cut from a newsletter and he handed it to… Read More

Live and Let Live

June 17th, 2013
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Street Sense is a small newspaper which is sold on the streets of Washington, DC by men and women who are working their way out of being homeless.  Some, but not all of the people selling the newspaper, have been to rehabilitation for drugs or alcohol. These are people working hard to develop resilience in themselves, to bounce back from hard times, and put themselves out there once again to start once again to rebuild their lives.  To me, they are all about the spirit of hope. The Street Sense vendors are always friendly and easy to talk to.  They… Read More

Life’s Garden of Loved Ones

June 11th, 2013
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Two tropical storms have moved through the Washington, DC area recently and we are getting more than our usual dose of rain.  Not complaining because I like the rain.  It’s good for our gardens and everything feels clean after a good downpour. This summer I am trying to pay more attention to the plants in my yard which I guess I think of as my garden even though they are not all planted in one contained space.  I planted some lettuce, rosemary and basil along with geraniums and marigolds.  Watching things grow is hopeful! As you wake-up and embrace today’s… Read More

Slow Dance

June 3rd, 2013
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I find this poem called Slow Dance to be nourishment for my soul. It helps me reset and focus my energies and set out once again on this magical journey called life so that I can appreciate the beauty and blessing that are given to me. Instead of powering through my days and nights, this poem reminds me to get out of the fast lane and slow down and really and truly focus on the wonder around me. Slow Dance Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round, or listened to rain slapping the ground? Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic… Read More

A Friend’s Good Bye Letter

May 28th, 2013
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Last week a childhood friend of my father’s died.  They had known each other since they were in grade school and met each other while playing recess games on the black top when they were about seven or eight years old.  They both went on to attend the same high school, playing basketball, and later both went into the insurance business working for different companies.   Over the years, they stayed in touch with each other as best they could.  They both worked very hard while trying to raise large Irish Catholic families.  My father and mother had six children… Read More

A Solid Sistahood

May 8th, 2013
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When I am with my good solid girlfriends — women whom I have known for years and years and years — I know I am blessed. When we get together we may be going on about our children, our hair color, a new diet or some story we heard about on the news, but the under current of all of that warm wonderful and familiar chatter is the inner knowledge that we are sistas who have each other’s backs and always will! Through beautiful and great times, times of trauma and then those other ugly times when you need to… Read More