Writer, Speaker, Editor, Blogger
Music has always been an important part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on the glider, between my aunts, my mother’s sisters, on the front porch of my grandparents’ house on Cornell Street. On summer evenings, the porch was a place to escape the heat of the unairconditioned house. Invariably, […]
Looking through possessions, pictures, and letters at my aunt’s house stirred so many memories and turned my thoughts to my ancestors and various types of life roots. Maybe signs of an early spring played into my pondering of roots. Or perhaps walking the yard with a landscaper and seeing trees that have anchored themselves deeply […]
Have you noticed the old becoming new? Tie-dye shirts, bell-bottomed pants, hobo bags, platform shoes, short tops replacing long, and grandchildren flashing peace signs send me spiraling back to high school days. Everything old and unstylish is suddenly new and modern. But isn’t it that way with life? What was abandoned finds new purpose. That […]
This week marks another step forward in closing an important chapter in my life. The remaining furniture and other items in my aunt’s house were removed for donation. I haven’t been back to the house to see it empty because I know it will be hard emotionally. I also know it is a necessary step. […]
Life events pass by quickly and we don’t always have opportunity for reflection. Often, we are so task-oriented we don’t allow ourselves time to ruminate on meaning, emotions, and impact. This has been the case for me regarding our trip to Israel. Our schedule was relentless. Then, when we returned, I hit the ground running. […]
Both of my parents loved photography. During World War II, following the departure of all the male photographers, my mother became the photographer for the local newspaper. She was on call 24/7 and learned a lot about telling a story through pictures. My father also enjoyed photography and owned a variety of cameras, including movie […]
On our trip to Israel, we saw lots of walls—torn down walls, damaged walls, still-intact walls, rebuilt walls, walls to keep in, walls to keep out, and sacred walls. As I scan through all my pictures, and see various walls, I think about the walls we erect in our lives. Following are some thoughts: Protective […]
My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Israel. The sights, sounds, smells, food, culture, and history bombarded our senses and overloaded our brains. Information poured at us with little time to absorb or process, somewhat akin to drinking from a fire hose. And yet, what we saw and experienced is etched on […]
Some people approach a new year with uncertainty and dread, fearing what is ahead rather than viewing a new year as a blank, white screen, or tablet, on which to craft a fresh story. A new year is refreshing, full of possibilities and hope. You can choose what you will do with the year ahead, […]
With the close of another year, do you look back with joy, or are you happy to view 2022 only briefly in the rearview mirror? Personally, I am happy to bid farewell to a year of uncertainty, caregiving, surgery, and grief. However, in sifting through the remnants of family members’ lives, I experienced joyous moments […]