That morning I headed out from the hostel on my bike, passing by the picnic table where Ruth was sitting in the sun. “Sit with me for a while, Connie,” Ruth said from her perch. I leaned the bike against the table and sat down. Ruth was eighty-three, a Canadian staying at the hostel while … Continue reading Sit With Me for a While
Author: conniesedona317
Tobacco Barn Morning
These mornings when I rise before six and walk, it reminds me of late July days as a child on our North Carolina farm. Mama would wake us when it was still dark to get ready and eat breakfast before we went to work in tobacco either on our farm or for one of our … Continue reading Tobacco Barn Morning
The Carousel of Time
We drive down the road on a sunny July afternoon, through the broad expanse of eastern North Carolina farmland on our way to the beach. This has been a yearly trek for most of our lives, from the time when we were children, to the years we carried our two sons when they were children, … Continue reading The Carousel of Time
Leaving it All Behind
This week I’m remembering my solo journey to Michigan. Right before that trip, we’d had a stressful move from our home of twenty years in the country to our downsized house in a neighborhood in town. The negotiations of selling our home and buying the new one came at the end of my year as … Continue reading Leaving it All Behind
Free to Be Me
During the week in which we celebrated our country’s independence, our freedom, I think about what it means to be free as an individual-- not to say and do things that hurt others, but to be my unique self. It seems that much of my ability to just be me has been limited by my self-consciousness, my over … Continue reading Free to Be Me
Underpromising: Is that Settling?
A few years ago, I took a course with the Wisdom of the Whole Academy to be a Life Coach. I remember in the early part of the program, they were explaining some of the basic tenets of coaching. When it came to the client setting goals, the guidance was to ‘underpromise,' to pick the … Continue reading Underpromising: Is that Settling?
Happy Cancerversary!
Cancerversary is a ‘milestone defined by you’ according to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship #cancerversary. That’s what June 22 is when I celebrate my survivorship from triple-negative breast cancer diagnosed in 2000. While my situation was cancer, your life-changing event may have been divorce, sobriety, or some other thing that irrevocably altered your life. Each … Continue reading Happy Cancerversary!
A Father’s Care
I’ve thought a lot about a father’s care over the past six weeks as I’ve watched my son, Brooks become a father. You can see the joy, the weight, the responsibility, the wonder of his new role as he tenderly cares for his baby boy. From the time Brooks knew they were going to be … Continue reading A Father’s Care
Sad Stories along the Road
Not all the stories of the people in my path are humorous or entertaining; there are some that are heavy, racked with pain that is real and truly part of our human experience. Over the last few days we’ve been alarmed and saddened by the tragic suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and the … Continue reading Sad Stories along the Road
Daily Bread at Tibbett’s Point
It was June and I was celebrating being a 10-year Breast Cancer Survivor, a decade since I’d heard the words, “You have cancer.” I wanted to take my summer journey to a special place, the seventh solo trip that had turned into yearly pilgrimages. Thumbing through a resource book for hostels in the U.S., I … Continue reading Daily Bread at Tibbett’s Point
Connie Rosser Riddle 