Holiday festivities can lose their joyful charge as you lose family members. But when you expand your family’s traditions you can expand your family circle. And, you recharge that joyfulness beyond the limitations you’ve known. Arts & crafts united my family at the holidays. Crafting unique ornaments each year became a loving competition between my […]
There are times that we choose pain and times that pain chooses us. When we’re chosen, it’s easy to feel victimized, and we are. But to heal, I believe, one needs to find the gift within the pain. Being open to pain’s healing is like having a gift that keeps on giving. I was recently […]
As I embark on a second tattoo I am often asked, “Why would you put yourself through so much pain?” As I listen for my answer, I’m flooded with various images of painful activities that I’ve chosen to endure. I retort with, “Pain is temporary, but the ‘result’ is forever.” So what is the ‘result’ […]
Five-days beaching with Anthony at the Jersey Shore led us to rings of engagement. Two floating rings—a silver ring for friendship; a gold ring for love—now hang from our ears. We’re engaged in a 1614 Corinthian quote, “All that we do be done in (friendship and) love.” The playful division of an earring pair on […]
My sister’s last days, once released from the COVID ward, was in an induced coma on a respirator. We all wondered if she could hear us talking at her bedside? And, I for one, continue to wonder if she can hear now that she’s dead? On the welcome table of my sister’s thrift shop, now […]
When my only sister and sibling died this year, I mourned the comfort of sisterhood. This ending of sisterly familiarity, understanding and inclusion gave rise to a new kind of sisterhood. Feminine UNITY, VISION, and BEAUTY. When death creates an opening, a blank canvas replaces it inviting new life. In the past month a cocoon […]
COVID split my heart in half when my sister died of it 3-months ago. It felt as if I couldn’t hold my heart together. But 1-year ago today, my heart was also cracked open, allowing love to flow into it so freely and fully. It felt then as well that I couldn’t hold it together. […]
We all cringe when assaulted with hurtful words. Angry daggers spew from desperate mouths in an effort to pacify their underlying fears. These sharp daggers puncture holes in relationships; and, they bury the respect and care that once created unity. A silent scream contracts my neck as I sleep. I wake up to the physical […]
Neck Pain and Overwhelm! You are NOT your body’s pain, but it can sure feel like it when pain strikes! Neck pain is often a precursor to other physical pain because it forms the narrow intersection between mind and body. As your mind gets busier, stimuli through this narrow intersection gets flooded. Headaches, moodiness, […]
It’s the morning after my sister’s funeral and I’m relieved I took the day off. Exhaustion plagues my body and I’m keenly aware of a black hole in my gut. It’s a deep chasm of sadness and heartache. To be expected, I thought. This must be what grieving feels like. Days passed. Everyday I had […]