Christmas is a season of remembering. The older we become the more we work to recall those earliest memories that have grown fuzzy and faded over time. As I watched the local evening news this week, every night included the weatherman's predictions for snow and if we'd have a White Christmas in central North Carolina. … Continue reading The White Christmas of Childhood
growing older
Shoring Up Our Joy
Over the past week, I've done two things that brought me joy. Storing up good things in my internal well helps to balance out the sadness of grief--that I spoke of last week in my post Struggling During the Holidays: Hope for Depression. Yesterday, I took lunch to my cousin. Growing up, she was like an … Continue reading Shoring Up Our Joy
Preparing for the Holidays: Take Good Care
This week I found myself bumping into challenges, wondering how much of what I was feeling was related to growing older. My nature has been to push forward, no matter what, because that's how you make things happen, how you achieve your goals. While I've been retired for over two years, no longer with the … Continue reading Preparing for the Holidays: Take Good Care
Bittersweet Halloween: The Passing of Time
Last night, I enjoyed Halloween with my grandsons, Baker 6 y.o. and Parks 4 y.o. I felt fortunate that Baker had asked me the week before, "Grammy, will you go trick-or-treating with us?" Fortunate, because he lives within a thirty minute drive and secondly because he wants me to join in with the group that … Continue reading Bittersweet Halloween: The Passing of Time
3 Tips for the Journey
During my preparation for the Camino, and later on the path, I was given three pieces of advice that served me well. Sometimes advice goes "in one ear and out the other," but these words of wisdom, from three friends, made for a more successful journey. Last February, when I was buying gear and going … Continue reading 3 Tips for the Journey
Camino Completion: I Did It!
On the fourteenth day of my journey, Friday August 23rd, I trekked the final 16 miles and walked into the plaza in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. As I walked in, by myself, not seeing any whom I'd met on the route, I felt a lump in my throat and a fullness … Continue reading Camino Completion: I Did It!
Pilgrims and Patients: Walking a Common Path
Yesterday I met with my "tribe" of members of the Raleigh Chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino https://www.facebook.com/groups/199622577531678/. Thirty of us took the annual five-mile sunflower walk at the Dorothea Dix Park. This is the third time I've done a Saturday hike with the group and each time I've met different people; every time … Continue reading Pilgrims and Patients: Walking a Common Path
Camino Prep: Setbacks
It's four weeks now until I leave for Portugal to walk the Coastal Camino path to Santiago. I'm amazed at how the time has passed since I first made the plan to go on pilgrimage on that ancient path. Since I started my training at the Hunter St Park, we've gone through fall, winter, spring, … Continue reading Camino Prep: Setbacks
Internal Pilgrimage: Questioning Long-Held Assumptions
Last week I shared with you a section of the book, The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within. It's a resource I'm using to prepare for my upcoming Camino journey, but on a broader level, one for looking at the internal journey that we're all walking. In the book, Christine Valters … Continue reading Internal Pilgrimage: Questioning Long-Held Assumptions
My Mother, My Teacher
Today is Mother's Day and I think of Mama and all that she taught me. I realize, now that I'm older and a mother and grandmother, that our mothers did the best they could based on all that formed them. Mama, was born in 1923 and grew up in rural North Carolina during the Great … Continue reading My Mother, My Teacher
Connie Rosser Riddle 