Gratitude and guilt are emotional enemies. So are joy and jealousy. These emotional enemies make playing the game of life difficult to enjoy. They are competitors of one another. These conflicting feelings show up when people who know each other want the same thing, but only one receives it. Take friends applying for the same…
Life hits you when you least expect it to. Holding it all together during those times is challenging. When emotional challenges overwhelm me, I’m learning to give myself permission to be human. Easier said than done, for sure. Being human means having unwanted emotions and not knowing what to do with them. Sometimes so many…
Light and sound travel swiftly, much quicker than time, but the speed of life has its own pace. Days, weeks, and months pass in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, whole years have come and gone. There are also the stints of life that crawl by because they are so exciting or…
Jane and Michael Banks had to take medicine each day. What the medicine was for, I haven’t a clue. It is beside the point. What is important to note is that the children found the taste awful. Their nanny, Mary Poppins, offered them a spoonful of sugar to remedy the situation. Mary’s theory was the…
The delayed flight from Denver to Boston made all the passengers impatient for take-off. Everyone, including the pilot, was anxious to get in the air and arrive at the destination somewhat on time. There were complaints about insufficient space to put carry-on luggage, confusion with reservations, and seat assignments. The usual bitching that goes along…
New cars come with lots of bells and whistles. Drivers have options to put more and more control in the vehicle itself. Cameras and sensors aid in parking and changing lanes. With the press of a button, cruise control monitors your speed, and can now apply the brakes. As the driver, trusting it is scary.…
Traveling is great, and I’m blessed to do a good deal of it, but I always look forward to coming home. Dorothy said it best when she clicked her red ruby slippers together and repeated, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” She was right. The young girl from Kansas was in…
My daughter and I have just returned from her college orientation. The time to spread her wings is coming, but not until September. In the meantime, anticipation is settling in for both of us. Emotions bound to engulf us are on the horizon. That far-off feeling of excitement or the looming thought of dread is…
Happy 4th of July! On this day, may our hearts be filled with gratitude for our country and the freedoms we have. May the symbolism of today be a reminder of what this country was designed to be; United & Free. We are the United States of America, not the Divided States of America; let’s…
Playgrounds are a childhood right of passage. My childhood would’ve been incomplete if it weren’t for park playgrounds. Parenting my daughters would’ve been very different without playgrounds for entertainment. They provide an outlet for socialization and physical exploration. Imaginations soar, and clouds are within reach when kids go as high as possible on the swings.…