It’s been seventeen years since I heard the words, “You have cancer.” Now the waiting room, which had always had an acrid smell of chemo drugs, doesn’t make me nauseous. Before this visit, I didn’t feel anxious like something bad was about to happen. My sleep has been good, no lying awake at 3:30 a.m. … Continue reading Transported Beyond Cancer
Breast Cancer Survivor
Lavender Field Morning
The Pelindaba Lavender Farm stretched before me like a landscape canvas; foreground with rows of lavender, mid ground with a lake dotted by white triangular sails of small boats maneuvered by summer campers, and background of snow-covered Mt. Baker stretching majestically to the northeast. I walked the perimeter in the cool morning air that was fragrant … Continue reading Lavender Field Morning
Interior Mansion
“This doesn’t look like the picture on the website,” I said to myself when I pulled into the hostel, my heart sinking. The nondescript, white frame house needed paint and renovation. What will it be like here, I wondered and thought of the next three days. From the exterior, this hostel was less impressive than … Continue reading Interior Mansion
Flying Horses
I stood at the edge of the crowd of adoring family and friends cheering on the riders of the Flying Horses Carousel at Oak Bluffs. My coworker from Boston, had told me that when she was a child, her family came here every summer. It was a popular spot on Martha’s Vineyard. I could just … Continue reading Flying Horses
Saved by Sedona
Sedona was the place where I was able to breathe in the presence of God, and breathe out the cares that weighed me down. My trip there was by accident; solo and serendipitous, a Spirit-led journey that I later saw as a pilgrimage. That journey was a sweet interruption of a struggle with a toxic … Continue reading Saved by Sedona
Connie Rosser Riddle 