Posts Tagged: strength

Robin Roberts’ Message

April 2nd, 2013
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Robin Roberts is courageously showing us how to be “all in” about life.
Over the weekend, I read Parade Magazine’s interview with Roberts, ABC’s news anchor for Good Morning America.  It is no secret that Roberts was diagnosed five years ago with an aggresive form of breast cancer and for the past year she has been fighting a rare life-threatening disease called myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) which affects the blood and bone marrow.
Roberts is now back on the job which is miraculous given the physical and emotional toll of her chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and fragile immune system.  But life … Read More

6 American Optimists

March 26th, 2013
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Readers: start your engines! If you are anything like me, you probably have days when it’s just plain hard to get into gear and get going. To help you move it along today,  here are six Americans (I am inspired by Gabby Giffords!) who told Reader’s Digest that life is better when you think positive and here’s what they have to say about looking on the bright side of life: Spirtual Adviser Billy Graham, 94, Christian minister, says, “If I didn’t have spiritual faith, I would be a pessimist.  But I’m an optimist.  I’ve read the last page in the… Read More

The Loss of A Child

March 5th, 2013
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When I have been in support group sessions and listened as people have talked about losing a spouse, I can almost feel the unspoken emotional support developing within the group; a sense of bonding, a feeling of “having been there” in the expressed feeling or thought.  A supportive dialogue sometimes follows and I’ve heard people say after the sessions that they have felt a sense of personal progress in working through their own emotions because they heard someone else express familiar thoughts and feelings. Being around other widows and widowers can be a blessing after you have lost a spouse. … Read More

Lessons Learned

March 4th, 2013
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I try to clear my brain on the weekends and taking long walks or short runs usually does it for me.  I like to make an effort to wipe my mental slate clean of whatever happened last week and get rid of it so I don’t carry it into the next week. However, this weekend I am fighting a cold and the weather in Washington, DC was just too cold and windy to allow me to get out in the elements. Instead, I exercised indoors on my stationary bicycle and the only way to break the monotony of  being in… Read More

Writing About Grief & Finding The Right Words

February 26th, 2013
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I think the hardest thing about writing is writing.                                                ~ Journalist, Author and Screenwriter Nora Ephron During Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony, tributes were paid to those in the film industry who passed away in the past year.  Nora Ephron was among the brilliant people in the entertainment business who sadly died last year.  She most certainly was a bright twinkling star in her own right and the producers of the show chose to display the above quote in her honor. Ephron was a keen observer of American culture and especially the stormy and romantic relationships between men and women. … Read More

Catching My Breath — Kelly Clarkson

February 20th, 2013
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Kelly Clarkson Singing at President Obama’s Inauguration Five days a week, I drive to and from work and during that time I usually listen to the radio.  I have five stations that I randomly listen to depending on my mood and the pace of the traffic. These days the song that currently makes me go directly to the volume button is Kelly Clarkson’s “Catch My Breath.” It’s a song of strength, a song that gives me a boost of positive energy. To me, the song has the vibe of someone who has survived some kind of a personal journey or… Read More

Michael J. Fox’s Morning

January 23rd, 2013
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Good Morning, Morning. I have a mindless routine in the morning, the same routine that I follow each work day.  I am never really ready to do anything until I have had at least one cup of hot tea.  I think I definitely take for granted that I can get myself going in the morning without taking any medication and without dealing with a physical handicap. Unfortunely, that’s not true for everyone.  That concept was really brought home to me after reading a short excerpt from in this month’s Reader’s Digest.  Always Looking Up, is the title of a book… Read More

A Merry Christmas Message

December 25th, 2012
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Merry Christmas Dear Readers, May you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas! The holiday season may remind you of a special person who is no longer with you, just as I am reminded of my husband who died nine years ago.  Our lives have been forever changed and so have we. But there is always hope for a renewed future; a future that we can purposely rebuild so that we may move forward.  You are not alone. We bring our loved ones with us as we slowly figure out our new lives and as we do, we… 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