My View from the Top of the World

I didn't necessarily plan to write today, but then I picked up yesterday's mail, and I had received a Christmas card from an old friend I haven't seen in a long time.  The message was so simple: Be Merry Be Grateful Be Peaceful Be Loved I sat for long minutes, repeating that message to myself. With all the dissention in our world right now, I felt the message deep down, and knew that I wanted to share it.  So today's writing is simple... We are missing a lot this holiday season, but we don't have to miss the depth of it.  What we reap from Christmas and New Year celebrations is never the same between households, even individuals, but it's my wish that you receive whatever it is that you need this year, whether it's material, physical, or spiritual.  And, if you need for nothing, my wish is that you receive the very things that you want.  💖 Decorate, Sing, Laugh, Play, Bake, Chat, Dance, Smile, Give, Nourish... For loved ones, For belongings, For enough, For...

  The tree on the left is a magnolia.  Behind it, to the left of the house wall, we squeezed our camper.  That beautiful, wooden front door was installed to replace an old, black, painted-over-and-over door.  At the time of our residence, and maybe still, the windows had leaded panes - with actual lead. The upstairs bay window was my parents' bedroom.  There was no en suite bathroom, but there was a lovely old sink so that they could wash their faces and brush their teeth in private.  The downstairs bay window was our (formal) sitting room.  Our Christmas tree would stand in that window, and even as a child, I relished the peacefulness of an empty room, lit only by tree lights.  A week or so ago, I realized that this New Year's Eve would mark the 40th anniversary of our immigration to the United States of America. December 31st, 1980, I was thirteen years old. That night, we flew with TWA into New York city, but missed our connecting flight to Pit...

  A week or so ago, my friend posted this photo to Facebook.  It's a photo he took from the boardwalk, on the sound side in Duck, NC during Thanksgiving week.  After he posted the picture, I couldn't get it out of my mind, and asked him if I could use it for one of my quote pics.  Very kindly, he sent me copies.   The problem is, I can't find the right words to go with this picture.  I looked up quotes about winter, about Christmas, about nature, and peacefulness... and it took me a while, but I finally realized why I couldn't find the right words:  Because this photo elicits emotion, not quotable words of wisdom.  Do you have the perfect quote to go with this picture? Ask yourself, what words does this picture summon to your mind?  Then ask yourself, what emotions does it elicit?  As beautiful as this photograph is, I feel mournful when I look at it.  And I've looked at it a lot...  I've stared at it, studied it, and ende...

  The other day, I went over to talk to a group of high school students - future teachers - about emotional trauma, and trauma informed teaching strategies.  Towards the middle of the discussion, as we were moving in the direction of secondary trauma in caregivers, the kids were able to identify that they are, indeed, experiencing trauma, right now, every day.   You certainly are!  What trauma are you experiencing? "We're living during a pandemic." Yes. We. Are.   According to the American Psychiatric Association, trauma is "an emotional response to a terrible event."  Additionally, a "person may experience trauma as a response to any event that they find physically or emotionally threatening or harmful." Important to note:  individuals respond differently to different life events.  It seems like it should not need to be said, but it needs to be said:  Something that affects me might not affect you in the same way. So, with our curr...

  And on this World Kindness Day, 2020, There's not much more that needs to be said. Always stay humble and kind. Take care of those you love.  Take care of you. 💖

  Seven years ago today, I lost my first love.  Less than 48 hours after a catastrophic stroke, I held his hand, and whispered into his ear that he has been the best dad ever.  That afternoon, after Mum and I had returned from the hospital, I went for a run (as if that's not the weirdest thing ever - you come home from the hospital without your loved one, and you're expected to just carry on without them...) As I ran, I made up my mind that I would honor Dad, and make him proud by my actions every day for the rest my life.  "Be the things you loved most about the people who are gone..."  Dad was a lot of things.  He was a sports fan, a decent golfer, and a terrific chef. He enjoyed music of all kinds, from Beethoven to Elton John, to Alan Jackson, to Tina Turner.  He loved a good joke and often found his own the funniest of them all.  He was well traveled and appreciated everything that another culture had to offer - especially the cuisine, but al...

I've been watching my kids play sports for almost 20 years. There's a last time for everything, and this week, I sat in the bleachers as a parent for the very last time. My youngest's last volleyball game... They beat the crosstown rivals for the first time ever, in their last game ever. You could say it was the perfect conclusion to the story of a sports mom.   Between the two of us, Jimmy and I have played all kinds of roles in our kids' sports lives;  Coach, spectator, cheerleader, counselor, team mom, Booster President... I've learned all kinds of things about youth athletics, but the biggest thing of all is that typically, the sport is better for the kid than the kid is for the sport. To be fair, superstars do emerge from high school teams.  Of course, that's where the pros were bred.  By the numbers, though, only about 7% of high school athletes play in college, and less than 2% play for D1 schools.  As for going pro, the percentage of hig...

He came to my office for a moment.  He was having a bad morning, and was finding it hard to stay under control.  He had found himself in a spot of trouble. When he entered, he immediately fell prey to the soothing colors and soft furniture in my office.  We talked, 'though he never once made eye contact.  He told me that if he told the truth at home, then they wouldn't be mad at him. He told me how his older sibling blames him and tries to get him in trouble.  He told me that he likes to be with his daddy, and that his mommy is sick a lot.  After some moments of quiet, he tilted his head to one side and asked, "Do mommies really cook?" He came to my office for a moment.  It was a moment that changed my week.   "Be kind to one another, for all of us are fighting a hard battle."  It's probably the quote I see most often shared on social media.  We all get it... but do we live it?    There are a hundred new stories like ...