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
In Our Daughters’ Footsteps: Mission Completed
We've anticipated this trip since August of 2019-- when Kim asked me to join her in bringing her mother's ashes to Skye. At that time, I said I was honored that she'd asked me, but inwardly, I wasn't sure how it would work for me to travel with her at the planned time--one year later, … Continue reading In Our Daughters’ Footsteps: Mission Completed
Saturday in Edinburgh
It was a clear, no-cloud-in-the-sky day in Edinburgh, with an expectant chill in the air like a late fall football Saturday in North Carolina. "Unusual for a day in Scotland," said our waitress . After a long night's sleep, my cousin, Kim and I sat down to a breakfast of scrambled cheese eggs, haggis, Scottish … Continue reading Saturday in Edinburgh
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
The Things That Hold Us Back: Solo Journeys
The countdown continues to September 8th when I take off on my trip to Scotland and Ireland with my cousin. I made progress this week on my to-do and packing list. There's enough time to get everything done now that I'm retired--unlike previous journeys where I was still working. It would seem that if you … Continue reading The Things That Hold Us Back: Solo Journeys