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Tag: life
Letting Life Get Messy
I have always hated what comes first when contemplating change: the ruin of what is, the demolition of the status quo, and the process of undoing in order to redo. This has caused me great discomfort as a person with a strong need for tidiness and order. “Let’s knock down that wall,” my husband might…
For My Mother, Higher Education Equaled a Golden Ticket
Whenever one of my older siblings ever said, “Maybe I’ll just stay here—in our rural Texas town—and go to college close by,” my Mom’s reaction was a frown and a quick, “No, you won’t.” This was not said teasingly or with a laugh but rather in a hard-edged tone that left no opening for discussion….
My Favorite Room in Our Home When I Was Growing Up
When I was a little girl, I’d sit in the living room of our house on East 9th Street and listen to records on our stereo with its pull-out recorder player. I think the records, such as “Get A Job” by The Silhouettes, “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford, and “Oh, Donna” by Ritchie Valens,…
Sharing Writing + Connection = Happiness
Sometimes a person will ask me why I share my writing. “Isn’t it better, more pure, to write just for oneself and keep it tucked away?” My response is always the same, I share my writing because I want to create a link with other people. I believe in the healing power of connection through…
Martin Luther King, Jr’s Wisdom in Our Trouble Times
Over the past two weeks, I have talked with several people dealing with difficult losses. One person has lost his housing and is living at the LA Mission, another has lost her house due to the Altadena fire and is temporarily living in a friend’s guesthouse, another’s elderly mother-in-law unexpectedly died, another’s seemingly healthy younger…
Growing Up with an Annual Post-Midnight Mass Bash
My parents hosted a Christmas party every year in the wee hours of Christmas morning after Midnight Mass at our tiny Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Bonham, Texas. This party was for all the church people and anyone else who happened to be awake and available for a party that began around 1 am on…
Prompt: What Lesson Have You Learned about Love?
The best lesson I’ve learned about love is that the greatest gift I can give another person is to stop whatever I’m doing, really listen to what the other person is saying, and then make the added effort to see the world through that person’s eyes. That is easier said than done, especially if the…
A Few Photos of Our Grandkids & Ron’s Mom
As Ray and I prepare to head to Sicily later this week, it was beyond a treat to have our three South Pasadena grandkids with us for an overnight stay. We also had the pleasure of having Ron’s mother, Cindy, visit at the same time, so we had a full orange grove! Cindy will also…
A Ramble About My Day
I am tired. Today was busy. Lots of visiting, which was all pleasant and with people I am very fond of, so that wasn’t the problem. The problem is that I went from one activity to the next with no downtime in between. We went to breakfast with one of our antique dealer friends to…
20 Minutes a Day 