Hi all. Sorry I skipped last night. Here is why: Little Luna (age 3) and Nico (who turned 6 months yesterday!) came for an overnight visit. All went well during the evening, particularly since Auntie Rachael and Ariel came to visit, which made everybody happy. Nico even fell asleep in Auntie’s arms and was as…
Category: Texas
Repost: A Lesson from the Past
This is a post that I wrote back in July of 2012. Somehow it speaks to me today. I hope it will speak to you as well. Len One of the toughest moments I have ever witnessed in my life is when many years ago a beloved priest of mine unexpectedly lost his daughter, Ruthie,…
Dallas Police Shootings Tonight
I have just come from watching the live coverage of the shooting of police officers in Dallas, which is part of my stomping ground since I grew up in North Central Texas. I know well those streets, the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and Parkland Hospital. Ironically, this all took place only blocks from “the grassy knoll”…
Repost: Twenty Years After via Halibun Poetry
The day came when she could no longer contain her anger. She picked up a crowbar and began chasing him around the back yard. The cardinal stared The wind blew hot from the west The sun bore down hard She cursed while she ran. He rushed into the house and slammed the door. She thought…
36 Years With Ray: A Few Things I’ve Observed
Dear Ray, Happy anniversary. Here are a few things that I have observed about how you’ve approached life over these past 36 years. 1) Laugh a lot 2) Be serious about details. 3) Live healthy 4) Love hard 5) Be loyal 6) Own up to your mistakes 7) Listen to good music 8) Relish the…
Preparations to Head West
Ray and I have been preparing all day today for our westward trek, which starts early tomorrow morning. We have wrapped up all the last-minute details that come when you live in two places. We had business dealings this morning, lunch with an old friend, spent the afternoon at the antique mall adding inventory to our…
Condo Cleaning and A Few Thoughts on the Role of Parents
Well, I thought we’d be leaving early this morning from Fort Worth, but instead, the more we cleaned the condo, the more we saw that needed to be cleaned. We ended up rushing to leave by 3:30 pm. Yikes. My day was spent cleaning all those icky areas that I didn’t think about until I…
Repost: Brother George’s Last Day
Fourteen years ago, my brother George passed away. He was 54 years old. George called on the evening of May 2nd, 2004 and told me that death was coming soon. My response: “Can you hold on until tomorrow? I’ll get there as fast as I can.” His response was, “I’ll try.” Thanks to my husband Ray,…
An Early Morning Trip Out Into the Rain
Ray and I were awakened around 5:30 this morning by the rumbling of thunder and the flashing of lightning as a thunderstorm rolled into the Sherman area. Rain came pounding down, which normally would be comforting when all snuggled in bed, but not this time. We had not completely covered the trailer out back, which had…
Sunday in Texas
I am sitting in what we call the “green” room in our Victorian, named for the dark green wallpaper with maroon flowers and the accompanying dark green ceiling. Two clocks in the room are ticking out of sync with one another, and one just rang four times though it is actually 10:03 pm. Clearly some…
20 Minutes a Day 