It's just a week until Christmas and we feel ourselves get caught up in the anticipation and expectations of idealized holidays. Years ago I realized how difficult Christmas can be. My father died of a massive heart attack on December 13. I was just twenty-two years old, working in my first nursing position after college. … Continue reading Bittersweet Christmas
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Transitions: Grappling with the Gap
In last week's post, I announced my surprise that I'd put a contract on a townhouse-since navigating the market has been so difficult. Once that offer was accepted, it seems like I was swept into a river's flow being pulled downstream with the appraisal, inspection, estimates on repairs, and cost for fresh paint. I've been … Continue reading Transitions: Grappling with the Gap
The Pipes are Calling: Scotland Bound
It's almost time to take off and the sounds of Scotland that I heard five years ago are calling me. The bagpipe player who stood at The Royal Mile provided the accompaniment that was Edinburgh on a sunny September afternoon. Thinking back, I'm reminded of a Saturday I had with Mama. It was the last … Continue reading The Pipes are Calling: Scotland Bound
Go For It While You Can
Ten years ago, when I started going to the Swing Dance at the Raleigh Elk's Lodge on Sunday nights, I had no idea how that new activity would change my life. At first, my husband went with me to practice what we'd learned in our West Coast Swing lessons. But soon thereafter, he didn't want … Continue reading Go For It While You Can
The Gift of Gab
This week I've been thinking about Mama. She passed away two years ago on April 30th after gracing this world for ninety-six years. People knew her for her kindness, her warmth and generosity, her adventurous spirit. They also knew her for her 'gift of gab' her Scotch-Irish roots that showed in her red hair and … Continue reading The Gift of Gab
Calculated Risks: Online Dating
It's been over a year-and-a-half since I started down this online dating path. I'm more used to the course now and I look back over the distance I've traveled, a baby boomer on a different kind of sojourn. Considering my experiences, and those I've heard about from friends and family, the notion of calculated risk … Continue reading Calculated Risks: Online Dating
Happy 300th Post!
Hard to believe but this is my 300th post for this blog site that I launched May 31, 2017. I started this after attending the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers' Conference where I pitched my memoir to literary agents. The prevailing wisdom was authors needed a platform to build a following of readers who would … Continue reading Happy 300th Post!
Can a Weekend Really Change Your Life?: Solo Journeys
In the past couple of weeks, in the midst of winter, I've felt a familiar restlessness-- one I've experienced at this time of year for a long time. There's a need to escape the gray of winter to a new place, a new experience; it's the time when the next Solo Journey starts to form. … Continue reading Can a Weekend Really Change Your Life?: Solo Journeys
Blues Man: Online Dating
This online dating journey has placed many interesting guys in my path. Last spring, I got a Like from "Ted" who had a nice profile with recent pictures that showed him with various friends and family members. He listed the activities he enjoyed that included playing and listening to music and my personal favorite, dancing. … Continue reading Blues Man: Online Dating
Really Retired
This week I finished my work as a part-time research nurse with UNC School of Medicine--Psychiatry Department. It's the position I took six months after retiring from my full-time job as a school nurse-- which I'd done for twenty years of my forty-four year career. UNC was where I began in nursing after graduating there … Continue reading Really Retired