This has been a 'working holiday' for me; I've been packing boxes and moving them to my new home in preparation for the big move on Monday. On Thanksgiving Day, I enjoyed a few hours of resting and eating with family and then left for my "date with a Doctor," as I told my sister-in-law, … Continue reading New Gratitudes
Same Time Next Year
Last Thursday I was honored, once again, to spend the better part of a cold autumn day with my cousin, Danny. I always wanted an older brother, and he's the closest to one I've known. Growing up, I didn't know him well because he's eleven years older than me. But since we started the tradition … Continue reading Same Time Next Year
Opening the Door to a New Beginning
Last Thursday I took another step to move toward the next chapter of my life: I closed on a townhouse. I've never bought a home by myself. Unlocking the door for the first time, felt like having the golden key to my new kingdom. I was moving out of the muddy river of the in-between-time … Continue reading Opening the Door to a New Beginning
Faith and Friendship: No Boundaries
In last week's post, Return to Jekyll Island, I'd made a stop in Georgia, retracing steps from my first intentional solo journey, and was headed on to my final destination of Florida. This is how I introduced the reason for my trip: "I'll be reunited with a friend from the Netherlands who I met at … Continue reading Faith and Friendship: No Boundaries
Return to Jekyll Island
It's been seventeen years since I took my solo journey to Jekyll Island, Georgia. That trip followed a triumphant visit with my oncologist. I'd made it to that important five-year mark post triple-negative breast cancer. I'd also made it to my fiftieth birthday and the trip to Jekyll was my gift to myself. I'd learned … Continue reading Return to Jekyll Island
Order My Steps
Sometimes, when I realize the passing of time, it hits me like a gut punch. That happened this morning when I saw my note from three years ago in my devotional book. I'd commented on attending my cousin's son's wake and the weight of that grief, her loss as a mother. How can that be, … Continue reading Order My Steps
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
Seasons: Online Dating
I left in summer for Scotland and returned in fall--with the trees in the beginning of their autumnal hues and displays of pumpkins and mums in stores and on porches. How quickly life moves forward from day to day and season to season. It catches me by surprise--no matter how much I orient myself with … Continue reading Seasons: Online Dating
One Fun Night in Dublin
On September 8th, when Kim and I were waiting for our flight to Scotland at the Raleigh-Durham Airport, news came of Queen Elizabeth II's passing. The next days, as we walked through the historic cobblestone streets of Edinburgh, preparations had started for the arrival of her procession from Balmoral. What pageantry followed as Great Britain's … Continue reading One Fun Night in Dublin
Ireland: People in My Path
This post is coming to you very late. I've been recovering from my return home yesterday: up at 7:00 a.m. in Shannon, Ireland, 12:30 flight from Shannon to the States---Newark Airport, five-hour layover there, 70 minute flight from Newark to Raleigh-Durham Airport, and finally home and to bed at 11:00. Twenty-one long hours from rising … Continue reading Ireland: People in My Path