Posts Tagged: hope

An Irish Sense of Humor

March 17th, 2015
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I love a holiday just as much as anyone else but to me St. Patrick’s Day is not just a day to “green up” and drink a lot of booze. It’s a whole lot more.

It’s also a day to celebrate my Irish heritage and the unique way the Irish laugh at life.  I take pride in knowing that the Irish have a rich and historic culture made up of a lot more than pub crawling.  We also are a people known for having a wicked sense of humor.  A bit rough and tumble you might say.

green girls

Growing up in … Read More

Changing Energy With Love

March 10th, 2015
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This past weekend marked a changing of the clocks, the official beginning of Daylight Savings time.  I always look forward to this time of the year because we gain an extra hour of glorious sunlight and more time outdoors which I love.  I know.  We also lose an hour of sleep but after a day or two I think the trade off is worth it. For me the first day of daylight savings time coincided with a much needed day trip to Richmond, VA to visit two fab people in my life: my son and his girlfriend.  I indulged in… Read More

A Daring Thought

March 4th, 2015
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It’s winter here in my part of the world and that means weather has continued to be dreary and cold.  It’s also the middle of the week and I’m looking for inspiration to give me a boost and I can’t think of a better person to do that than the fabulous Brene Brown! If you don’t know Brene Brown, she is an author, mother, wife and also a Ph.D. research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.  If you get a chance check out her TED talk.  It blew me away! Brene Brown has an amazing… Read More

Traveling in Hope

February 23rd, 2015
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Wow! What a weekend! Here in Washington, DC, we received 6 to 8 inches of steady snow on Saturday but then by Sunday the temperatures rose up to the 40’s!  As my neighbor and I were out shoveling the slushy mesh, we both remarked that it was warm enough to take off our coats. Today the temperatures are dropping back down again to February coldness so it just goes to show that you never know what Mother Nature is going to bring to us in terms of weather!  I also have that same kind of uncertain feeling about this upcoming… Read More

Creating An Oasis of Calm

February 16th, 2015
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When I read the above sign, I knew I was in the right place. Isn’t it just great? I love the simplicity and comfort of this message and the fact that it was posted on a black bench in the lobby of a local yoga studio where I took my first lesson over the weekend made the idea behind the message even better. I was in a new place about to begin a new experience but felt immediately welcomed. Taking off my shoes became the first step to creating a calming place for myself.  As I pulled my boots off… Read More

A Plucky Poem of Resilience

February 11th, 2015
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// When I open my personal email early in the morning, one of my favorite things to see is an email from my son.  I don’t get them as much I did when he was in college because now I receive more text messages.  But still, receiving an email from him always makes me smile. The email that I write about today arrived over the weekend and in it my son wrote that a friend of his had seen the poem featured below and wanted to pass it along to me so that I could post it on Cry Laugh… Read More

A Stranger’s Human Thoughts

February 9th, 2015
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You never know what you are going to hear when you are getting your hair done. I was going about my usual weekend routine when a man reminded me that we as humans have more in common than we acknowledge.  Each of us are in different places and different phases, but most of us are trying to make sense of our lives, past and present, and each of us has something we are trying to work out and heal within ourselves. Grief, for all of its raw pain and turmoil, does teach us things about life.  I don’t mean for… Read More

Reward Yourself

January 26th, 2015
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When I find myself in times of worry or stress, I often handle it by giving myself rewards. I focus on the stressful or worrisome tasks that I have to deal with and then in the back of my mind I tell myself that when I’m done with whatever it is for the time being, I will do something that will make me feel better about life. For me, rewards are sometimes a critical part of managing the darker sides of life.  Rewards give me a boost and make me feel as though I can carry on.  It can be… Read More

Hey There Sleepyhead

January 21st, 2015
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My siblings and I are caregivers and since the weekend we have stepped up our efforts to support our elderly parents. Without going into a lot of detail for privacy reasons, it was my turn to spend the night in the hospital this past Sunday night.  I have done this before but it has been a long time and I had forgotten the impact of the variety of noises that can keep you awake: the machines, the cleaning staff, the nurses, and the constant switching on and off of lights.  This is not a criticism of the hospital; they have… Read More