My wife and I shuffled out of the hospital exhausted. We both still wore our wrinkled work clothes, my dress shirt was untucked, my tie loose around my neck, and we had dark circles under both our eyes. We had been through the ringer. Our daughter who had come into the hospital emergency room looking … More The kindness of strangers
When we brought our puppy home in early August, the weather was sunny, with 14 hour days and warm nights. The cushions were out on the front porch furniture and the doors to come inside were open 80% of the time. And our cat refused to meet the new puppy. She preferred to stay outside … More We’ll Call it Courage Anyway
I’ve written about the fun I had traveling as a study abroad student…. decades and decades ago. The story that some of you might be familiar with is the embarrassing tell-all about “Falling in Avignon” when I was part of a choral group which provided unexpected “entertainment” when I triggered a little chaos. That same … More The Disappearing Girl – Part I
It seems like these days pass so quickly that we often finding ourselves reading, appreciating the gift of a post, and then moving on too quickly. To extend some of the great notes of the week, we have Well Said Saturdays – bringing a few quotes from recent posts forward. From Inspired by Raindrops by … More Well Said Saturdays – October 28
Are you ready for some spooky talk? In this episode of the podcast, I’m with my co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson, and we are back with author and blogger, Mark Petruska. We hope you are ready for some fun because Mark has a story to tell — a spine-tingling paranormal tale if ever there was one! … More Episode 41: Enter If You Dare with Mark Petruska
I know I have the upper hand here when I say “everything is beautiful.” I’m an artist, and as a visual creator, we can’t help but take in, absorb, and process the world through our eyes first. Everything goes through our eyes, even before it hits our brains and our hearts, our senses and our guts. I suppose that’s true for everyone, so maybe I should say things differently. Artists notice more with our eyes, take in more with our eyes, and honor what we see a lot more than most. And I do believe that artists are the only people who have an excuse to be called superficial. Because we honestly can’t help it. However, I do think viewing the world through dialed-up eyesight can be learned and cultivated, if you’re interested in giving it a try. … More Everything Is Beautiful
The young man spent most of his free time at the firehouse. If he wasn’t at his warehouse job, the one that paid the bills, he was found most evenings at the firehouse. He was the youngest volunteer on the team, so most of his time was spent cleaning up after the rest of the … More In the eye of the beholder
I have a neighbor with whom I’ve bonded because she’s trying to get pregnant via in-vitro fertilization (IVF). As a cancer survivor, she and her husband haven’t been able to start a family without fertility intervention. She correctly guessed that as a single-mom, I must have had help to create my family. So she’s shared … More The Courage to Try
I love musing about the symbolism of rain and raindrops. I wrote about my sweet sister’s love of the B.J. Thomas song, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” a while back. Lisa is one of the most courageous humans I know as she navigates complicated memories of love and loss – mixed-up recollections from her head … More Inspired by Raindrops
It seems like these days pass so quickly that we often finding ourselves reading, appreciating the gift of a post, and then moving on too quickly. To extend some of the great notes of the week, we have Well Said Saturdays – bringing a few quotes from recent posts forward. From Courage Behind the Wheel … More Well Said Saturdays – October 21
The Heart of the Matter 