Right before Christmas, I spontaneously answered an appeal from an organization I’ve been a part of since 1991. They’ve changed their name in an effort to reposition the invisible malady we share. The idea was to spread the word about ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) by asking ten people to donate twelve dollars each to
October 26, 2014 I had an insight this morning: Mom “reaching out” from her 79-year-old vantage point, longing to share, impart, connect with the subsequent generations of her family. We roll our eyes, take in some things, but hurriedly, slightly irritated at the incessantness of it all. Some stories some of us have heard a
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings was my introduction to the concept of rape. I was mortified. Especially that it could happen to a girl younger than me. And to one who hadn't even started her period. I was young enough when I read that book not to have started my own, but I
Prompt: 15 minutes: "A gentle heart…." A Gentle Heart A gentle heart is what I have sometimes, what I show to the world. I hide the dark part of my heart, my soul processing shameful feelings secretly, purging them of any power over me. The self-doubt, the insecurities, the grief, depression, desperation, feelings of futility,
In six weeks, I’ll be a grandmother, and I don’t really know what to think about that. Everyone says, “Congratulations! It’s so much fun being a grandmother! Bet you can’t wait to get your hands on that baby!” I do love babies. I consider “the nurturing mother” my strongest archetype. Yet for some reason, the
November, being the month of Thanksgiving and all, inspires many folks to record a list of things for which they are grateful. Also, November is the lead-in to Advent, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the ultimate gift for those of the Christian faith, which tends to also turn our hearts outward toward thinking
My kids used to call crescent moons “fingernail moons.” When I see those luminous, thin, curved lines gleaming in a dark night sky, I smile, remembering Caroline’s delight at this original analogy. Back then, I was slim and had nice legs. Back then my bum was perky despite two pregnancies. Back then I wore short
I'm "Pressing" this, meaning I did not write this post, but I do think it is interesting reading, especially for parents of teenagers. Those years can be rough - for parents of both teenage sons AND daughters. My heart goes out to all of you, including those teenagers trying desperately to figure out who they
July 9, 2013 Prompt: 15 minutes: “supposed to” Supposed To She was supposed to get a lot accomplished today, piles of vacation mail littering the kitchen counter, dirty clothes on the laundry room floor, wilting calla lily plants screaming for water from their old pots, long leaves drooping. She turns the pots occasionally, angling them
This made me laugh out loud remembering how, in 1986, I painstakingly typed out on my big old Apple Macintosh then printed out on my big old dot matrix printer about 3 full pages of instructions regarding the care and feeding of my first child at age six months when we left her with her
