Gathered around my cousin’s Christmas Eve fire doing needlepoint, we chatted about everything and nothing. I feel relaxed, engaged and productive. She comments on how big my needlepoint project is, when I’m already so busy with work projects. I had spoken about feeling burnt out. Frustrated, that at my age of 61-years, I was still […]
One year and nine months after my sister Sherry’s death, I was rejected by those I had once considered family. I was the only one my sister’s family excluded from the Thanksgiving guest list. Sherry was my only sibling. Being excluded from the holiday table we’d shared my whole adult life was an abandonment from […]
Like Noah’s Arch, I’ve always found it helpful to care for animals in pairs. Presently, I care for two four-leggeds, two winged-ones, two+ finned-ones. While my adopted menagerie of cats, birds and fish highlight differences between species, the pairs offer comradery within species. Creating different environments for different animals to thrive has been my task […]
My job was to sit quietly and let the potions do their magic, while makeup artist Jennifer Snowdon applied and explained the product line. “Mature Makeup Redefined” is the tagline for Alchimie Forever—a skincare line used as basis for glowing makeup application. I modeled for them at The Brand Summit, presented by The Powder Group. […]
To create the life we want, we extend into an I-don’t-know-abyss to consider new people and things. And also, stay present in I-know-myself-alliances to manage past people and things. But what happens when the old things shift you back into the I-don’t-know-abyss? As I witness my boyfriend, of two-years, I can happily say that loyalty […]
We all know people whose identity is wrapped up in being the funny, smart or artistic one. And their sense of value is dependent on broadcasting that “thing.” Their comments regularly remind listeners of this “thing” they believe makes them lovable using shocking jokes, speaking above the mean, or belittling the artistry of others. Not […]
When a take over of new management happens, there are casualties. After 15-years of service, my mother’s aid was fired! Or was it actually silencing the voice of reason that could foresee oncoming problems. The senior residence, mom has called home for 8-years, occupies the old Ringling Brothers Circus base camp. You can easily imagine […]
Since my sister’s death I am often visited by her. Have you ever had a dead person visit you? It’s easy to explain it as wishful thinking. And, maybe it is? But the timing and unexpected nature of her visits lead me to think otherwise. It can feel like she’s hanging out in the corner […]
A foundation of trust is what we most crave as children. With an alcoholic father and narcissistic mother, that craving was never nourished and a foundation was never laid. I’m sure I’m not alone in this alternative foundation. The way this played out in my story is, uncertainty always plagued me in matters of love. […]
Most people believe that the mind body connection affects the quality of their life beyond basic survival. But they don’t necessarily understand how it works? In my experience, mind body awareness hasn’t always stopped the ill-affects that their misalignment causes. Life happens, pressures mount and boundaries are crossed. But mind body awareness does offer a […]