Getting Old is Heaven

As she moved into her mid-seventies, my Nana began to say: “getting old is hell.” And when my father reached the same point, he was wont to declare: “just take me out in the backyard and shoot me.” Both of them were pivotal people in my life, providing love, wisdom and stability over the course…

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Laughing Lady

Living on the water is the height of beauty: from sunsets over a river that ripples with pink and orange while we watch from the deck; to a sky streaking up with color as I lie in bed at five o’clock in the morning and look out the window at the crab boats that putter…

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Lucky Woman

Below me I can hear the noise of the carpenters banging away as they finish sheet-rocking my basement. From my window I can hear birdsong and the river lapping at our shore. At last, we are ensconced in our new house. Moving itself was a nightmare, with an unproductive estate sale, followed by days of…

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Legacies of Love

Sometimes the years shift forward abruptly, like an earthquake: so much changes in the space of a second. This last Friday I was caught up short as I sat down at my desk and opened my computer.  Nestled in my inbox was an email from the son of my best friend, Myrna, who died from…

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A Song For Juneteenth

As I write today, it is “Juneteenth,” the national celebration begun on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger led Union soldiers into Galveston, Texas and announced that both the war and the scourge of slavery were over.  This date gives me pause, leading me to reflect on its joyful creation as well as…

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Museums and Mekking Eggs

Doesn’t everyone think their grandchildren are the very best ones around?  Of course, my own grandson is truly amazing. At twenty-one months, his vocabulary is something of a shock: he is able to attach names to objects and emotions rather than simply repeating them all back to me like a parrot who doesn’t know what it is…

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Model Trains…one piece at a time.

My husband retired last Friday and I am worried. While I celebrate his freedom from a job of which he was truly tired, I am also concerned about what he will now do with his time, as well as the loss of his income. How will the family budget survive? How will he survive psychologically? …

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Rolling With The Wrinkles

Hey there, it’s Halloween! Pumpkins and skeletons and spider webs on the stoop. Candy bars and Smarties in a big bowl. Tricks and treats and pranks. Little kids greet this day with anticipation, much laughter, and a genuine sense of celebration. I enjoy answering the door to see their carefully constructed costumes, especially those that…

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Illumination from Blackwater Woods

Here is my favorite poem of all time–particularly apt at this time of year, as autumn takes over our world. It uses an incredible metaphor that speaks to living your life with authenticity. God bless you, Mary Oliver. Yours,

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To Understand And Be Understood

How many of us have friendships that span decades and still remain intact? From my childhood, I have only one such remaining–the eleven year old girl that I called my best friend during grammar school. While there was no such thing as a BFF at the time, the acronym captures our relationship most precisely. So,…

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