I saw this hashtag the other day and marveled at how cool it would be to be able to live my life #NoFilterNeeded. Even those of us who pride ourselves on being straightforward - filter. Â Sometimes we filter emotions, sometimes beliefs, and sometimes our thoughts. There are times when filters are fun. My kids and... Continue Reading →
My original titles were: Breaking Down Walls; Crashing Through Walls; and, Hitting the Wall, but as I was thinking about the piece, I began to look at the situation differently. I have been very frustrated with my post-concussion journey. It seems at every turn, as soon as I think I'm ready to forge ahead, I... Continue Reading →
If you've ever driven through unfamiliar territory on an empty tank at night, you know the gnawing feeling of fear rising from the pit of your stomach as the fuel gauge drops below empty. You probably also recognize the flush of relief when you spot a gas station sign in the dark ushering you to... Continue Reading →
Have you ever seen flowers sprouting from some imposing rock face or weeds finding their way to the sun in the middle of the tarmac? Meandering beside any sandy, salty shore, you are bound to find seagrass. It always amazes me. Here is the most inhospitable environment: the soil is wrong, the water is wrong,... Continue Reading →
I learned a valuable lesson today: merely sitting down for a while or physically stopping what you are currently doing, is not relaxation. True relaxation is restorative. I think I finally realize what I have been missing all these years. My husband and I have always planned summer vacations with a 10-day rule. Any holiday... Continue Reading →
Exodus 34:21 "Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing and harvesting seasons, you must rest." Rest is important. So important, in fact, that God made it a commandment. Hard work is essential, but rest is too. Very often we think of rest as work that's not... Continue Reading →
Why would anyone want roses? I mean, they're beautiful but... THE THORNS! Why is a bouquet of roses the quintessential romantic gesture? What makes roses so precious? Why not daisies or dandelions; they're everywhere; they don't cost much or anything at all; and, they have no thorns! I started working when I was ten years... Continue Reading →
What image would you create if you could paint your future? Would the backgrounds be colorful or monotone? Is the landscape urban, suburban, rural? Are you on a stage, in a boardroom, in a racecar, or on top of the world? If you could paint your future what colors would you use? Do you have... Continue Reading →
Did you ever decide to make a change, some big, colossal, gargantuan, enormous change, and then... forget you changed? I have this beautiful Japanese Maple tree in my backyard, and it starts out verdant and bright. Later, tiny patches of pink and light green emerge in the form of delicate seeds, the kind that falls like... Continue Reading →
People are always talking about thinking outside the box. It's the catch-all phrase of the 21st century. Most of the time the box is a reference to societal norms and expectations to which most people adhere. What if the box isn't society's box for us, but our box for ourselves? Even more terrifying is the... Continue Reading →
In Charles Dickens, Hard Times, Mr. M'Choakumchild, Thomas Gradgrind, and an unnamed government official were so firmly rooted in reality that they rebuked a class full of children for thinking horse covered wallpaper would be acceptable because horses wouldn't populate people's walls. The entire school system in Dickens' world was built around the "truth" that... Continue Reading →
The national dish of my household was tea and toast, preferably with orange marmalade and butter, or butter and honey, or butter and jam, or just butter. Mom used to reminisce fondly over types of jam especially one she loved as a child which she could never find here in the states, like gooseberry jam.... Continue Reading →
