There is only one important time, and that time is now. The most important one is always the one you are with. The most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side” —“The Three Questions” by Jon J. Muth based on a story by Leo Tolstoy “In Every Moment Be Present.” I looked this phrase up before I sat down to write because I vaguely remembered a quote that I wanted to reference that had to do with this topic. I didn’t find it. What I found instead, because I am not so … Continue reading Dog Day Afternoon

The house in which we now live is surrounded by two churches, a synagogue a preschool, a high school, a court house and the general downtown area. There is a rhythm to the days and weeks that comes from living in close proximity to institutions. The hum of cars in the morning as children are dropped off at the day school. The 3:30 buzz on a Friday afternoon as high school students bolt for the weekend. Shabbat services Friday evenings at the temple. Live music drifting up the street on First Friday. Sunday morning 10:15 call to worship for the … Continue reading Revolution Redux

Today is World Introvert Day. –This is a day for the dreamers. The thinkers. The quiet ones. The ones sitting in the back of the room or standing at the edges. The ones who know more than they show and feel more than they let on. -Jenn Granneman; Introvertdear.com People who know me are usually surprised to find me labeled an introvert. On any personality test I have ever been given I score amazingly high on the introvert scale. I have learned to compensate in order to survive with my sanity mostly intact. An overstimulated mind in an overly loud … Continue reading Come in Closer

Little things, big life…… New Year’s Day has always been my second favorite holiday. Halloween is first. Halloween is a time to play in the shadows, dabble in the dark. A time to don a skin not your own, put on a facade and become, for a brief time, someone better or someone worse than yourself. Halloween is a night of smoke and mirrors. It is a time to be anyone but who you truly are and discover your authentic self all at the same time. New Year’s Day is the same and the opposite all at once (sometimes with … Continue reading Think Small

Maybe I just need a smaller bowl…….” We weren’t going to decorate this year. Most of our things are still in boxes and I have no clue which one holds the ornaments. I figured we would be further along in the “moving in” process by this time, I pictured us at Christmas, stockings hung by the chimney with care, sitting around a fully decorated Victorian tree, in our fully decorated Victorian house, sipping hot toddies and toasting our new perfect, organized life. Life, however, does not always conform to our daydreams and best laid plans. As such, we are woefully … Continue reading The Gift of Enough

The weather has driven us inside. Thunder, darkening clouds and the shortest day of the year, have called us in from day dreaming on the porch and joy riding with the sun roof open. We want to be out, but our souls, nature and the house, with her soft lights, warm wood and newly ignited heater want us in. They want us drawn up under blankets, playing cards by candlelight, reflecting, reminiscing, taking stock and giving thanks. It is during the “taking stock” part of this decree that I make the discovery. “Did you know we have FOUR sets of … Continue reading The Blessing of the Bowls

“Home is where your story begins” reads a plaque which is still buried in one of the many boxes waiting to be unpacked. It hung in the entryway of my Arizona house above a photograph (also still in a box) of the reservoir where as children, we used to feed ducks, catch fish and run wild. This reservoir was THE landmark in our area and the point of direction from which all things related. It was an indicator of the changing seasons, the passage of time and the last turn off of the main road leading home. Home in those … Continue reading Girls Gone Wild

We rolled into town exhausted and excited just over two months ago. The moving truck arrived the day after we did and I have to admit….two months later most of the boxes, most of the things, are still exactly where they were left on that day. We did unbox the essentials: kitchen items, bathroom items,clothes, Steve’s “work from home” office and our bed out of necessity, but the rest of the house has remained in a state of chaotic flux. I thought in today’s post I would unpack (see what I did there) the three main reasons why we continue … Continue reading Learning to Listen

So…..I am a week (or more) behind because….life. Many people reached out to us during Hurricane Dorian and I appreciate your care and concern. We had not yet unpacked our televisions so the first I heard of the storm was from a friend asking if we were in the path and were we prepared. (We had actually been in Jacksonville furniture shopping and had commented on all of the power trucks headed into Florida.) So again….thank you for keeping me in the loop. It was a nerve wracking introduction to hurricane season but thanks to Dorian I now have a … Continue reading Weathering the Storm

Doing the Work 2,133 miles. That is what Siri, Google Maps and Map Quest estimate the drive time to be. Yes. I said drive time. 2,133 miles equals roughly 30 hours and 42 minutes. I realize that means something to everyone else ( Fibonacci and da Vinci and the rest of the scientific and artistic world are in on the secret ) but to me…… numbers mean almost nothing. For me……30 hours and 42 minutes is the duration of a Pink Floyd or Zeppelin album. It is the eternity spent waiting in line sandwiched between strangers at a coffee shop. … Continue reading Doing the Work