Last week I was able to come out of my fourteen-day quarantine that kept me from caring for my grandson, Baker. It resulted from being in the nursing home with my mother the last two days of her life. While she didn't have COVID-19, nor did any other residents, my son and daughter-in-law felt it … Continue reading Released from Quarantine: Return to Joy
Solo journeys
Revisiting the Shifting Sands
Last year on this weekend, I was on my solo journey to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That was a difficult trip because I knew while I was away, my husband would tell our sons that our marriage would be ending. But it was also a trip filled with beautiful sites, the salty breeze … Continue reading Revisiting the Shifting Sands
Happy 200th Post!
This is my 200th post on this blog. I started in May of 2017 after I returned home from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Conference. There, I pitched my memoir to agents and attended sessions on marketing my work. What everyone in the writing world suggested was having a blog so you could provide … Continue reading Happy 200th Post!
Keeping Our Hope
This past week, I've felt the impact of having been in this pandemic shut down for a month. While most of the time, I can find hope and write about that in my blog-- I struggle like everyone with sustaining hope. I work part-time with a research study that looks at the impact of mental illness … Continue reading Keeping Our Hope
We Are Created to Thrive
Recently when I was in Asheville, I visited the studio of Matt Tommey-- a basket artist and founder of a mentoring program for Christian artist. I subscribe to his podcast-- The Thriving Christian Artist and find the episodes to be encouraging of my writing and my faith. His studio is in the River Arts District … Continue reading We Are Created to Thrive
Write Your New Story for 2020
Stepping into 2020, a New Year, a New Decade I can't help but compare how different I'm starting this year from last, this decade from the one that started 2010. I'd assumed that my life would continue on the same trajectory that I'd anticipated of growing old with my husband and being married until we … Continue reading Write Your New Story for 2020
Step Forward on Your New Path
Last Thursday afternoon, with my belly full of Thanksgiving turkey, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, topped off by apple-pecan pie a la mode, I drove through the country toward the Eno River State Park. The weather was perfect for a hike-- sunny and fifty-seven degrees with a gentle breeze. There were still touches of fall foliage … Continue reading Step Forward on Your New Path
Finding My Grateful Heart
"The holidays will be hard," many have told me, recalling their experiences of the first of everything after losing their spouse through death or divorce. These folks have gone on to share suggestions to help me through this season. I've thought about their counsel and now, with Thanksgiving in sight, I'm making my plans. Like … Continue reading Finding My Grateful Heart
Waiting for the View
Today I've been thinking about my solo journey five years ago to Michigan. The place I'd looked forward to visiting the most was Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. All the photos I'd seen of Lake Michigan from the vantage point of the dunes, showed a vast expanse of tropical-like water with varying hues of blue-green. … Continue reading Waiting for the View
Just Show Up
Last Thursday night, my energy was low after a day of record-breaking 100 degree heat, a full-on attack of fall allergies, and a couple of nights of disrupted sleep. I could barely summon the energy to go to my Texas 2-Step class, an activity I added to 'cultivate pleasure' as my friend had suggested to … Continue reading Just Show Up
