Recently, I served as a substitute teacher for an American Sign Language class to help provide coverage. Two former students I’d taught were on the roster. Both hold warm spots in my heart. They came to visit after the class. They hadn’t known about my cancer and my bald head drew questions. When I joked about it speeding up my getting ready in the morning and never having any snarls when I combed my hair, one said, “You’re so happy.”... Read more
I’m thinking, we need a do-over of the Year of Mercy. Because the last one didn’t take. A friend online recently came under fire for things she’d written in the past. I read the very real pain in her voice as friendships ended because of the scorn and derision she received. It was public and it left bruises. She’d been stoned by people she considered friends. I sat there trembling, because this happens more and more. People no longer... Read more
We were made for love, not use. This first reality of our being, is the essence of why we crave affection, attention, affirmation and acceptance like oxygen in our daily lives. We long to feel certain that we won’t be rejected, and devise all sorts of ways to hide whatever it is about ourselves we fear others will reject. To teach our culture, so rooted in use, of something better, we need to stop thinking as man does –about everything,... Read more
So I’ve been through three rounds of chemotherapy, I’ve lost my hair and now we hit the hard place. Food is no longer a source of joy, but a potential threat no matter how I feel about the matter. I can be starving, and food tastes bad. I can feel sick to my stomach, and food is necessary. Whatever my expectation, it’s wrong, and thus far, the only preapproved meals I’ve found are soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, crackers... Read more
For the past few years, I’ve written a baseball poem about watching the playoffs or the world series. Today, I share my hope, love and pain, things all baseball lovers know from loving the sport. My husband loves the Red Sox. I’m rooting for the ‘Stros. The series is tied, grand slams aside, as I endure great pitching woes. With an ERA of 20.5 in 5 1/2 innings of the series there isn’t a rhyme to convey the misery this... Read more
This is something I wrote back in 2015…because I know that all life is precious. I believe all life is worth protecting, and that we are only as just as we are to the ones to whom we are least just. We are only as kind, as we are to those to whom we are least kind. We are only as generous as we are to those to whom we are least generous. We are called to a giving life... Read more
Back when I was five or six, Mom took me for a necessary vaccination. I didn’t want the shot (naturally). So Mom asked me if there was something I really wanted. There was. I wanted a spirograph. She promised if I didn’t scream and make a fuss over the shot, we could get it. The deal was struck. I’d be Spirograph brave. Photo from Ebay of Vintage 1967 Kenner Spirograph Set. The shot happened and Mom and I bought the... Read more
Recently, I read a post on Zombie Marriages, and reminding people not to go through the motions of a relationship, but to actively engage in loving each other. It struck me that the tips about life being more than survival apply to all of us. This past eighteen months, we’ve survived, but not thrived. We’ve tried to figure out how to stay safe, but we’ve bubble wrapped and masked our selves to the point of not engaging with others, and... Read more
Most mornings, I make a list. If it’s on the list, there’s a 85 percent chance of it happening. As it happens, today I did not make a list. Still, I’d made it through work, where I have lesson plans and lists, so I figured, “It’s Friday. We got this.” Wrong. After work, I drove to the carwash. It felt indulgent, efficient, luxurious. When I finished, I still had time before pick up, so I dutifully parked at the school,... Read more
This was written back on January 4th of 2008. First, a disclaimer: I don’t watch really Youtube. I know what you’re thinking: You lie. No. I really don’t. My computer still putts around on dial up, so unless I want to experience processing information in real time as if I have ADHD, I’m not going to link onto any video type material, no matter who sends it to me. It’s not that I’ve never seen Youtube. I’ve been at a... Read more
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