Are You My Mommy?

May 10th, 2015
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Thank goodness that mothers come in all shapes, sizes, ages and cultures!

There are all kinds of mothers, each healing and loving in their own way and trying to do what they think is best for their precious children.  Today we celebrate the many wondrous things our mothers do for us out of the goodness of their huge loving hearts.

ryan's plate

Everyone has some kind of a Mom: traditional, surrogate, birth mother, step mother and adopted mother.  No matter what the silly label, mothering a child is one of the most important jobs in the world.  I have loved every minute … Read More

Commiting To Heal

March 18th, 2014
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When committing yourself to begin healing, you are taking an important step.  You are in effect looking around yourself and saying that today’s situation isn’t working well for you and you are choosing to change. I have found that it’s a decision that can make you feel two contradictory emotions at the same time. On the one hand, you are feeling brave to decide to open yourself up to change but on the other hand, the act of opening yourself up to something new is scary and nerve wracking because it’s unpredictable. We all react differently to the loss of… Read More

Fathers & Sons

June 15th, 2013
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Today I’m going to visit my Dad and celebrate Father’s Day a day early. My son won’t be joining me because he is out of town visiting his girlfriend.  Even if my son were here in town, I would still be emotionally torn on Father’s Day.My Dad is still alive and our family is lucky and blessed to have him. But my son’s father, who was also my husband, died nine years ago and the celebration of Father’s Day makes me feel guilty and conflicted. Guilty because my father is alive and his isn’t.  Conflicted because I want to make… Read More

Embrace Your Journey

June 13th, 2013
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“Embrace Your Journey.” You may have wondered why that phrase is listed at the top of my blog underneath the title, “Cry, Laugh, Heal. “ “Embrace Your Journey” is something called a tagline, a phrase to give you — my fantastic, wonderful and supportive readers — a heads up about the things that I’m going to write about.  Things that have helped me to slowly but surely work my way through the loss of my husband, learn to be both mother and father to a young son and develop resilience.  “Embrace Your Journey” helps me to set a tone of… Read More

That’s What Friends Are For

January 15th, 2013
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This past weekend I met up with three of my best girlfriends to celebrate my recent birthday. I have known these special women for decades and we have been through a lot with each other and for each other.  Birthdays, weddings, funerals, break-ups, new jobs, new houses, vacations — we have been through it all! The beauty of being friends for a long time is that you don’t have to explain everything.  One person can mention a certain situation or a person’s name and we know right away what that means.  We know the things that make us laugh and… Read More

Let Your Light Shine

December 20th, 2012
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Today is twenty four hours of new time.  Time you didn’t have yesterday and time you won’t have tomorrow. Today is a day for you to shine.  In the words of South African President Nelson Mandela (please read below), “We are powerful beyond measure.” Today is a day to discover something new about yourself.  A day to show what you are about. It’s your day. . . Find your power! Find Your Power Our Deepest Fear From Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inaugural speech Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest is that we are powerful beyond measure.… Read More

The Big 300

October 22nd, 2012
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Today marks my 300th post. It’s a personal milestone and truly a huge deal for me.  Big thanks go out to all of my family (especially my son, Ryan, who is my biggest blog cheerleader), friends and readers out there in the internet world who read Cry, Laugh, Heal.   You give me more than you know and I read and respond to all of the great feedback I receive!  And I hope to receive lots more feedback as I continue to write about the incredibly silly, sometimes sad and mostly spontaneous events that happen to me on my new journey… Read More

Work Can Be Rewarding

July 19th, 2012
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Work itself is the reward.  If I choose challenging work it will pay me back with interest.  At least I’ll be interested even if nobody else is.  And this attempt for excellence is what sustains the most well lived and satisfying, successful lives.    ~ Meryl Streep I am a big believer in working hard.  I grew up in a large family and ever since I can remember I have had chores and responsibilities around the house.  I got my first paying job when I was 16 years old and that’s just the way I was brought up.  A work ethic… Read More

Letting Go

April 17th, 2012
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Longer, warmer days are making me yearn for a simpler life. Lighter clothes and lighter food are definitely the way to go.  There’s something about the change in seasons that makes me want to lighten my material load here on earth and get about to the de-cluttering of my nest.  This past weekend I was cleaning the house and I started pulling stuff out of my closet and making piles of “keep,” “donate” or “give away.”  Getting  rid of things you never use or wear feels so great!  But de-cluttering isn’t just about your material things. You can de-clutter your… Read More