We’re in that period of the year that feels like suspended time, hanging between the current year and approaching the new one, taking those uncertain steps toward the future. The constant t.v. and radio reminders of the year in review—whether it’s political changes, deaths of famous people, sports records-- keep us focused on what feels … Continue reading Looking Back, Looking Forward
Author: conniesedona317
All is Calm
It’s just two days until Christmas. This year will be quieter than past years, since our dinner will be postponed until our son and his family return from spending the holiday with his in-laws. We used to have gatherings with larger numbers of relatives, but now we’re in that phase of life where our children … Continue reading All is Calm
Three Great Gifts
One of the surprises for me of Going Social are the connections I've made with people and organizations around the world. After one of my post concerning my journey with breast cancer, an organization in the United Kingdom, Cancer Care Parcel messaged me and invited me to do a guest blog post. Looking at their … Continue reading Three Great Gifts
Family Ties: Someone’s Favorite
I've been decorating my home for Christmas and I keep finding special things that remind me of my Aunt Polly: an engraved ornament, my blue porcelain angels, woodland birds. On Saturday evenings when my husband and I watch movies, I work on my crewel embroidery pillow and remember how she taught me the stitches when … Continue reading Family Ties: Someone’s Favorite
Taking Time to Play
For the past ten years, I've spent Veteran's Day hiking with my favorite living veteran, my cousin, Danny. He's eleven years older than me, so when I was young and we had our big family gatherings at our Grandma Smith's, we didn't hang out. I thought of him like an older brother. Since I only … Continue reading Taking Time to Play
Being Present: Stay in Touch
Years ago, when I was writing part of the eulogy for my father-in-law’s funeral service, I asked for each of the five grandsons to share a special memory of their ‘PaPa’. My younger son, Ross told me that his Papa was a really good listener. His example to support this was that when he told … Continue reading Being Present: Stay in Touch
Celebrating a Life
Today I'm remembering a solo journey I took back in 2009 to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My desire was to visit the place that had been significant for my mother. She and her cousin, Yvonne traveled there by train when they were both nineteen to prepare for work in WWII as civil servants. Throughout my childhood, Mama … Continue reading Celebrating a Life
Not What I Expected
Four years ago, I was considering retiring from school nursing and looking at my options. I wanted to work part-time and do something different. After Googling jobs for nurses, number ten on one list was Life Coach. I’d considered going into that area years before but the timing didn’t feel right. I had fifteen years … Continue reading Not What I Expected
Solo Journey: Dream Destination
In last week’s blog post, I told about how a Literary Agent set me on a Solo Journey of Indie Publishing. I knew my dream destination—publication of my memoir, but I felt hesitant to take the first step forward. Like when I approach my yearly solo journeys-- the destination is determined but there is uncertainty … Continue reading Solo Journey: Dream Destination
Unless You’re Famous
The Literary Agent from Denver sat at the opposite end of the sofa from me, both of us turned toward each other for my fifteen-minute session at the writers’ conference. In his hands was the proposal for my memoir that I’d painstakingly prepared over the past six months. The last fifty pages included the first … Continue reading Unless You’re Famous