offering my best

One of the things that I’ve found most challenging about my mother is our conversations…which have almost always felt like parallel monologues; she talked about other people and what they were doing (which to me felt like she was avoiding any “real” conversation) and I would in turn would try to introduce “meaningful” subjects (things…

a 15 minute trip…the destination is your choice

Several nights ago, Jack and I got into a lengthy discussion about our relationship. After 20 minutes of “honestly” telling each other what we felt was missing, how we had been disappointed, discouraged, angry, hurt, and generally dissatisfied, we both felt horrible. The more we talked about what was wrong (in an attempt to correct…

A visitor bearing gifts

Several days ago, I found out that someone close to me had betrayed me in a way that quite literally sent me into shock. For hours, my body shook and my heart felt like it would explode. Later that same night, as I tried to sleep but found it impossible…thoughts about the hurtful event felt…

loving the mystery

  Last Thursday, I drove by a house that almost took my breath away. I parked my car and walked down the old tree-lined street, from the house to downtown Burlington, imagining what it would be like to call this home. I’ve been looking at houses around the area for several years, but none have…

What will I do today?

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” E. B. White   For much of my life, I’d felt a deep urge to help others…but it never seemed like I was doing enough. I believed…

Unique and wonderful you

Jack and I were watching a documentary last week called, Advanced Style; a wonderful film that showcases women over 60 who love fashion and seem to embrace not only far-out and fabulous clothing, but life as well. I feel like it would inspire anyone to get outside of their comfort zone as far as fashion goes,…

A good business plan

I was talking with my sister the other day about someone who had married into our family, and subsequently refused to have anything to do with anyone in our family (except for the person she married), and the poem, Outwitted, by Edwin Markham, came to mind. After years of feeling like I was being excluded…

The Sacred Path….one step at a time

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters, by Portia NelsonI I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost ... I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes me forever to find a way out.II I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole…

The holographic universe

One of the most startling experiences in my life happened when I began to see that every being and every situation I encountered was showing me an aspect of myself. I'd heard about this for years in statements like,"We live in a holographic universe",  but I never really knew what it meant, because I hadn't…

The key, the lesson, and a give-away!

My mother has always been a giving person, especially with her children. lf one of us said to her, "I like the sweater you're wearing mom", she'd inevitably respond, "Do you want it?" or she'd just go change and come out wearing another top, while handing the one we'd admired to us. We've gotten into…