Today, I worked with one of my adult students on a paper she is writing for her graduate course in Clinical Psychology. The paper focused on the patient-therapist relationship in the HBO television series In Treatment, starring Gabriel Byrne. The assignment was to write a paper detailing what the therapist did right, what he did…
Category: Writing as a Discipline
My Dad, Sweet Memories on the Eve of His Birth
Tomorrow is my father’s birthday. Here is a piece I wrote about him a while back, but that still rings true for me. This provides a window into my world with him: “Have I told you today how much I love you?” This was a question my father asked me every day I was growing…
Mother Shireen Visiting at St. Thomas
Last night for the Latin Vigil Mass and today for the High Mass (read lots of bells and smells), I had the pleasure of serving with beloved Mother Shireen Baker, who is St. Thomas the Apostle’s own homegirl. She is the Assistant Rector of St. Clement’s by-the-Sea in San Clemente, but she was gracious enough…
Movie Night: A Perfect Valentine’s Day “Date”
Ray and I are celebrating Valentine’s Day by staying home, watching movies and relaxing. Heaven. We just finished watching a puzzling movie entitled “The One I Love” that stars Elizabeth Moss and Mark Duplass, who is currently starring in a TV series we both like called, “Togetherness.” The only other actor in the movie is…
Quiet Time
I hate to be one of those people who writes to complain about how tired they are, but that is exactly what I am going to do tonight. So, you might want to chalk this blog post up as boring and head on to others that capture more of your interest. I am lying here…
4-Star Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe
I made this recipe tonight for a family dinner to celebrate Rachael’s full ride to Chapman Law School. I got the recipe from Food and Wine Magazine. This makes a creamy lasagna that is full of flavor. Everyone – especially Rachael – seemed to love it. Let me know if you try it! Pumpkin Lasagna…
Flash Fiction: Out of Time
I can’t say how it happened. One day I was willing to stay and the next I wasn’t. No big bells and whistles. Not even the infamous toothpaste cap out-of-place. Just done. All the juice drained from the relationship like a lemon accidentally left in the car for too long in a hot summer. Desiccated…
Slumber Party with Baby Luna
Grandma is tired tonight. Lots of fun with baby Luna this afternoon and evening. We are enjoying a sleepover with our 22-month-old granddaughter. Currently, she is snoozing beside me in our bed. Sammie, the Scottie, is asleep at the end of the bed; Cordelia, the Corgie, is on the floor; Ray, the Grandpa is yawning on…
Congrats to Rachael: Full Scholarship to Chapman Law School!
I am very pleased and proud to announce that our youngest daughter Rachael has been awarded a full scholarship to attend Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in Orange, CA starting in the fall, 2015. I am thrilled with the news of her admission, but the addition of a full scholarship moves me almost to the…
Anthology Piece Recently Published: My Mother and Her Pain
“Please don’t share our family tragedy,” my mother whispered to me while we stood in church together in Pottsboro, Texas in 1990. I understood what she was saying to me. “Please don’t tell these people. I can’t bear to deal with this now.” Tragedy was not too strong of a word. We had just learned…
20 Minutes a Day 