Paycheck to Paycheck

January 5th, 2019
Posted By:

expenses

I know several people who work for the federal government.

Putting aside the political debate about why the government is currently shutdown, this is a time of anxiety for many of these people and their families.

These people work hard and approach their jobs in a professional manner and now find themselves in an awful place.

Some of them who are considered to be “essential” must show up for work knowing that they will not get paid.  Others are furloughed and have no idea when they will go back to work or get paid.

800,000 federal workers and their families … Read More

5 Purifying Places to Cry

May 16th, 2017
Posted By:

Emmy Award Winning Actor Jon Hamm as Mad Men’s Don Draper (Yes, Men Do Cry & That’s Okay) Sometimes the feeling starts in my throat. It feels tight.  I try to swallow a few times to see if that will make it go away. The next thing I know a lump has formed as I begin to feel my eyes well up with water.  I try looking up at the ceiling because a good friend told me this is a trick she uses to prevent crying. Or I pinch the bridge of my nose so that I focus on the … Read More

Nate Berkus Moves Forward

November 25th, 2013
Posted By:

When I share stories on this blog about my travels with grief over the past several years, I do so in the hopes that it will help others cope with their losses.  Grief can be isolating even though I believe most people want to connect with others and especially those who have been where they are when they experience a loss.I think everyone wants to feel that someone, anyone gets what’s going on with them; especially at this time of the year. One of the ways I found a connection was through reading.  In the beginning of grieving the loss… Read More

Taxi Dad

November 1st, 2013
Posted By:

Today’s post is a shout out to all of the men out there who have lost their wives or partners and are working hard to juggle the never ending responsibilities of working a paying job while raising their precious children. I think that women in this situation tend to receive more attention than men due to the sheer numbers of women who find themselves widowed with young children.  But men are also out there too doing their part and running around — as all parents do — trying to keep all the plates in the air. I was reminded of… Read More

Can You Hug Too Much?

September 20th, 2013
Posted By:

Hugs……They’re so healing!We hug when we see someone we really like and haven’t seen in a while; we hug when it’s time to say good-bye. We hug to show we care; we hug to let the other person know we are on their team. We hug to send a special message to another person that they are not alone.  They have a friend; someone who cares what happens to them. We hug to comfort.  We hug to love. We hug because we are human and part of a larger community. We are here to hug.  Each other.  All the time.… Read More

Never Look Away

September 19th, 2013
Posted By:

When you consider the amount of emotional baggage we all carry around with us, it is amazing that we find love. Wounded though our hearts may be, we cannot fight the attraction and pull of another person who catches our fancy. Maybe you have been lucky and found love more than once. I found love with a small l a few times, but found love with a capital L only once.  It’s an amazing, powerful, crazy thing this love emotion that takes us over and keeps us going and truly defines our lives.  It is not to be treated lightly,… Read More

Back to Kindergarten

June 19th, 2013
Posted By:

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

Unwanted Care

June 5th, 2013
Posted By:

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

A Friend’s Good Bye Letter

May 28th, 2013
Posted By:

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