Reducing Holiday Stress-O-Rama

December 8th, 2017
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Santa_and_Puppies

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I recently posted some thoughts about December and it’s ups and downs.

More than any time of the year, expectations run high and emotional triggers seem to be lie in wait all around us.  There’s shopping and decorating and socializing and it’s all supposed to go according to schedule and be everything that you want it to be.

You know.  Like the holidays in the magazines and on television.

Except that in real life that doesn’t happen.

And it’s okay.  In fact, it’s more than okay.

It’s just what life is.… 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

Snapshots of Caregiving

April 2nd, 2014
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Helping to care for someone, whether they are young or old, is a time to step up to the plate and show how much that person means to you and many times it also turns out to be a time of personal growth. I have taken care of lots of babies and toddlers and I have also taken care of elderly relatives.  Until you do it, you really don’t realize how much time and energy it takes to properly care for another person. For me it is instinctive.  I see the need and I want to help.  There are few… Read More

A World View

January 16th, 2014
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Something To Think About. . . “The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in.” ~ James Baldwin Heavy Fog Rolls Into New York City NY Metro Weather via Earthcam… Read More

Pushing Those Emotional Buttons

September 30th, 2013
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I have three sisters and two brothers who are younger than me.  Yes, I am the oldest of six children and we are very close in age.  Growing up and living with such a cast of loved ones has made, and continues to make for many great stories and many great memories. I would say I talk to at least one of my sisters every day and sometimes I talk to all three of them during the coarse of one day.  That’s a lot of yakking, right?  Not really because we also email and text each other. In our own… Read More

Your Dad Is Here

June 16th, 2013
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I see my husband in my son in small ways:  the way he rolls up his long sleeved shirts, the set of his jaw when he is annoyed or determined to do something he really wants to accomplish and the way he plays chicken with his car’s gas tank and won’t fill it up until it is almost empty. When I see those traits it is bittersweet: they make me laugh and but they also make me feel a little sad and wistful.    “He is still with us,” I think to myself.  My husband had a very strong personality so… Read More

Unwanted Care

June 5th, 2013
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How do you try to take care of someone when they don’t want you to? I’m sure you must know a person you care about and perhaps even love who doesn’t want you to help them even though it is obvious that help is very much needed. You understand the frustration right? It’s the frustation of no matter how hard you try to offer various kinds of support, you never are able to do the right thing, the thing that will make them happy. This is what I know I can do: I call on the telephone, I listen, I… Read More

Being A Mommy

May 12th, 2013
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On June 25, 1990 my life changed forever. I gave birth to a magical baby boy and I discovered a kind of love I had never known before. A fierce, unconditional and wondrous kind of love that continues to take my breath away! I say surprising because I was totally unprepared for the depth and the size of this love for my son.  As the oldest of six children and one of 35 first cousins, I grew up constantly surrounded by babies and toddlers.  Also, there is only seven years separating me and the youngest of my siblings, who are… Read More

A Summer Itch

May 10th, 2013
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I talked to one of my great friends today on the telephone.  I thought she was at home or running errands but then she said she had to get off the phone because she was getting ready to cross the Bay Bridge.As in the Bay Bridge over the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.Ding! Ding! Ding! She’s. Going. To. The. Beach! Right away, I began to feel the symptoms of an incurable condition called “Beach Fever.” My friend’s news dovetailed perfectly with the recent warming of the sun in Washington, DC (predicted 82 degrees today!) and turning the calendar to the mojo… Read More