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
#solojourneys
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
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
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
In Our Mothers’ Footsteps
It's less than three weeks now until my cousin, Kim and I will take off on our trip. The journey will bring us closer together just as our mothers were close. Her mother, Yvonne and mine, Mary were first cousins and best friends. Kim Casto McCaskill and Connie Rosser Riddle August 2022 Back around the … Continue reading In Our Mothers’ Footsteps
Path People
Today, on Memorial Day weekend, we remember those soldiers who served bravely and gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Last week's post, Armed Forces Day: A New Way to Celebrate featured a program for veterans that serves them by providing shelter dogs that are then trained through the Vets to Vets program and go home … Continue reading Path People