A Bit of Hairspray Wisdom

October 14th, 2016
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beauty-salon

Magical things happen to me in hair salons.

My gray hair disappears, splint ends fall to the floor and I love watching clients and hairdressers exchange confidences that make each of them feel a little bit better about what is happening in their lives.

This past weekend I experienced a different kind of magic; the magic of connecting and going with the flow of the moment.

As I entered my tried and true hair salon, I was looking forward to a much needed hairdo transformation.  It was probably closer to a hair color intervention because the summer sun had bonded … Read More

Awesome Life Stories

September 8th, 2016
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Learning to Surf The Waves of Life Each of us has a story to tell about how our particular and significant lives have developed and unfolded over the years and it can be surprising how others decide to reveal pieces of these awesome life stories to us. The more I listen to people of all ages and cultures, the more I realize that we all have something in our lives that at some point has taken the wind out of us and made us question how we can continue on. Sometimes people tell you about their difficult circumstances over a… 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

Family Time

March 31st, 2014
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It’s that time of year in my family. Time to celebrate the birthdays of my parents who are in their 80’s.  My Mom and Dad’s birthdays land on the calendar exactly a week apart so in the last few years my siblings and I have started celebrating their birthdays together in the interest of harmony, world peace and all that is holy. We know we are blessed to have our parents still with us and we definitely don’t take it for granted.  Not for one minute.  But sometimes it can be tricky in making sure that each birthday receives the… Read More

Beyond His Clutter

February 21st, 2014
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Oh my goodness I can so identify with the story that I am sharing with you today. It’s a story titled, 54 Drawers, and it’s about a daughter who thoughtfully and lovingly is going through the drawers and drawers of file cabinets containing huge amounts of paper her recently deceased father stored in the office of his house. In my case it was and still is the papers that my late husband left in his office.  Over the years, I have made a lot of progress and thrown out lots and lots of boxes containing everything from old bills, old… Read More

Strength Through Sharing

February 10th, 2014
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Sharing my stories, and those of others, can entertain, offer strength and inspiration and sometimes minimize the isolation that is felt in relationships or personal crisis.  I share to bond, to reach out, to reveal that I am vulnerable just like you. No one knows when someone else’s story will unexpectedly touch a life and help another person gain a new perspective on grief, a subject people they know about but in fact they don’t.  Someone else’s words can bring new understanding to the issues of life and death,  of physical and emotional survival and help you see things differently.… 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

Freedom & Bravery on Memorial Day

May 27th, 2013
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The smell of charcoal lighter fluid has been heavy in the air in my neighborhood this weekend which means that the grilling season is now officially open. Cookouts and parades are just two of the many ways we Americans mark the holiday of Memorial Day, a day when we pause and remember the bravery of the Americans soldiers who are thankfully still with us and those who are sadly deceased because without them we would not have the freedom to enjoy such leisure and peace. American flag displayed at Vietnam Veterans Memorial I recall as a teenager when the draft… Read More

Socially Yours

May 22nd, 2013
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Stories are constantly written about why we should strive to unplug from our computers, ipads, Smartphones and other electronic devices but I read a work colleague’s Facebook post yesterday and was reminded of how amazing social media truly is. I work with a young guy named Aaron Knights and he was at the incredibly tender age of seven when his beloved father died from cancer at the age of 38.  Think about that for a minute.  Think about what you were like when you were seven.  The idea of losing a parent at that stage of your life is profound… Read More