The patrolman handed me the dreaded paper and stepped back into his car with the flashing blue lights. How in the world can this be happening, again, I thought, my third ticket in eighteen months. What was wrong with a fifty-something-year-old woman, mother to adult sons, and responsible nurse-- in this trouble again? My mind raced … Continue reading My ADHD Made Me Do It
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Enlarge My Territory
The day after I was fired from The Research Company, I packed my suitcase for our family vacation at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. I was in a state of shock, thinking that for the first time in my adult life, I had no job to return to. My husband, David came in and handed me … Continue reading Enlarge My Territory
Looking Back Looking Forward
I study the photograph from four years ago with me standing next to a tall red rock in the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. It was unusual for me to take my solo journey in April, but that trip was planned around the Pikes Peak Writers’ Conference. On that Monday afternoon, I … Continue reading Looking Back Looking Forward
Fog Gets in Your Eyes
Enjoy the View That’s what the sign said that was just a few feet from the overlook of Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes. But the area was a total whiteout, wrapped in dense fog, hiding my view of the broad expanse of dunes and water. I could hear the faint sound of distant waves … Continue reading Fog Gets in Your Eyes
Sinners and Saints
Pilgrims have traveled to Iona, Scotland for centuries to the Abbey founded by Saint Columba. But before he was seen as a saint, he was recognized as a sinner for leading his Irish clan in a battle where three thousand died. He is every man and every woman; all of us with our shadow side … Continue reading Sinners and Saints
Then Sings My Soul
I lost myself in our conversation, feeling it was more important to be present in that moment than to be on time for the service. When I finally pushed open the Iona chapel door, I heard the piano playing, the congregants singing a song that was familiar from another place. Tears splashed my eyes as … Continue reading Then Sings My Soul
Fall Tapestry
October is a month of fall festivals and breast cancer awareness. Yesterday, both came together when I attended the Big Foot Festival near my hometown of Sanford. I don’t know a lot about Big Foot, but I went to support my friend, Donna, who’d organized the event as a fund raiser for clean water efforts. … Continue reading Fall Tapestry
Some of Our People
The last time I took Mama to see her brother, we passed a car pulled over by a state trooper, blue lights flashing. Mama focused on the loaded down Honda with the officer talking to the driver. “I hope that’s none of our people in that kind of trouble,” she said. Our people could have … Continue reading Some of Our People
We Gather
We gather. Forty-one of us from around the world, pilgrims to Iona, Scotland. We share stories of our lives, in one-to-one conversations across the table, in our dorm rooms as we prepare for the day, in dyads during morning sessions. How interesting what has brought each person to this place-- all unique yet with the common … Continue reading We Gather
Tea at Two
Tea at Two. That's what we'd agreed on, my new online friend and me, fellow breast cancer survivors from either side of the pond. We'd have tea near my hotel at Hyde Park in London. I was excited to meet her in person and to have a real British teatime. I envisioned a table covered … Continue reading Tea at Two
Connie Rosser Riddle 