Last week, I had the treat of attending Christmas by Candlelight at the Duke Homestead, the residence of Washington Duke. The house was built in 1870 and the festivities included the old-fashioned traditional Victorian Christmas activities like his family would have experienced. The night was perfect with a chill and slight breeze, enough to feel … Continue reading Silent Night
Not a Usual Christmas
Christmas trees have always been one of my favorite traditions of this holiday season. Recently, I toured the Biltmore House in Asheville during the special Downton Abbey Exhibition. The tour guide told us there were seventy decorated trees inside the house and seventy outside. Because of the massive rooms with high ceilings, most of the … Continue reading Not a Usual Christmas
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
Different Kinds of Courage
Last Monday we celebrated Veteran's Day. I thought of the men in my family who have served in the Armed Forces-- my father and my uncles in WWII, my cousins in Vietnam, and then male and female acquaintances in more recent wars. When I see the news coverage of war I wonder what it feels … Continue reading Different Kinds of Courage
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
Finding Light for a Dark Path
This was a tough week. It started with my therapy session on Monday night. It had been a while since I'd seen my therapist so there was a lot to tell. He listened to me recount the sadness that had been predominant. It seemed that two recent losses had unloosed an avalanche of emotion within … Continue reading Finding Light for a Dark Path
A Time to be Nurtured
There are things I learned going through cancer that have served me well since that time-- now over nineteen years ago. One that came to mind on a hot day this past August, was the need to take breaks from your situation by getting away to another place. When I dealt with breast cancer, I … Continue reading A Time to be Nurtured
Thanking Our Unsung Heroes
October has been renamed Pinktober-- everything colored pink during this month in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness. I'm always aware of it since nineteen years ago I went through eight months of treatment for triple-negative breast cancer. This year I thought I'd do something different to honor this month: recognize some of the unsung heroes … Continue reading Thanking Our Unsung Heroes
Friends for This Season
I'm fortunate to have many friends; some since childhood, some from the workplace who've remained in my life beyond the job, some through our common passions of dancing and writing. At times, I've felt I didn't need to make any new friendships because I barely find the time to maintain the ones I have. But … Continue reading Friends for This Season
