What we Leave Behind

What we Leave Behind.

Sweet Suprise

To say that a five year old can be impatient is an understatement. For them, the air is still electrified with constant discoveries assailing their senses in the best of ways. They are Magellan, Marco Polo. And the world awaits. How could they stand still? Why should they? We adults, on the other hand, have...

Where are you looking?

Where are you looking?.

Where are you looking?

Some of the most meaningful conversations between my son and I take place while I'm tucking him in at bedtime. Several weeks ago, he was having a hard time being quiet during nap time at school. One night after a few days of being "clipped down" in class for giggling with his nap-time neighbors, I...

WHY ITALIAN FOOD IS PERFECT (as requested by reader and friend, Lisa Ann)

When I first met my friend Lisa, we had just become co-workers. My personal version of How to Make Friends and Influence People can be summed up in the idea that when you feed people yummy food, they are probably going to like you. So, on my first day in the office, I made a...

What we Leave Behind

  In the past, my mother had expressed concern over what she had to leave for her children. I remember her being disappointed that she didn't have a lot of "valuables" to pass on, or a large inheritance to divide amongst her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I would try to reassure her with words like,...

Irreplaceable

One of my favorite quotes is credited to renowned 19th century playwright Oscar Wilde. He advised, "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." My first husband had a saying, too. A bit more Poe than Wilde, his words were the cautionary, "You can be replaced." The glorious truth? I am many things, but replaceable I...

Worthy; recovering from emotional abuse, January 10, 2014

Most of us step into marriage with the greatest expectations of a lifetime spent loving and being loved. Sure, we'll have our ups and downs, just like everyone else, but we'll work through whatever comes our way, together, because that's what people who love each other do, right? I married my second boyfriend. Throughout high...

The Journey, January 8, 2014 “What do you crave?”

It happens every day, more than once and, usually, more often than necessary. It starts innocently enough. Maybe you begin to feel a bit fidgety. Your toes start wiggling, and your mind becomes a bit distracted. Could you be...hungry?Yes, of course, that must be it. It's been at least an hour or two since you've...

The Journey, December 21, 2013

Many years ago, when I was overweight the first time, a dear family friend offered to pay for a few counseling sessions for me. The counseling was a gift of guidance through some rough waters I was navigating at the time - college, boyfriend, my father's deteriorating mental health. I met with the counselor for...