THE GIFT In the last few years, several of my friends and I experienced significant losses. The anguish involved in loss is rarely welcomed, and often seen as the price one pays for having loved greatly. I, however, tend to look upon grief as a gift. Think of the alternative. Without great love, there would […]
Acceptance
The Kindness of Strangers
My tale begins at Dayton International Airport on July 4. My friends Sharon and Kathryn came for a visit. Sharon drove in from Pittsburgh and arrived in time to accompany me to the airport to pick up Kathryn, who flew in from Wichita. Sharon and I were in a small area of the airport as […]
The Greatest Love of All
“Nicole is lucky to have you for a mother. You show her great love.” These are words I frequently hear from those who know the lengths to which I go to find resources for her. I see this as my responsibility. I know it is a loving action, but I have the skills to do […]
You Make Sense to Me — A Priceless Gift
Oprah Winfrey often says that what she learned in her twenty-five years as a talk-show host is that people want the same thing — we want to be heard and understood … we want to know that we make sense to someone. In my past life (1993-2012), one of the many professional hats I wore was as […]
Rare Resilience
“Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.” ~Zen Proverb My experience at the Myotonic Dystrophy Conference on Saturday, October 22, reminded me of this Zen proverb. The morning was full of hope as the doctors and researchers enlightened us about the progress they are making. In their work, […]
The Wisdom of the Body
“The body remembers, the bones remember, the joints remember, even the little finger remembers. Memory is lodged in pictures and feelings in the cells themselves. Like a sponge filled with water, anywhere the flesh is pressed, wrung, even touched lightly, a memory may flow out in a stream. ~Clarissa Pinkola Estes For much of my […]
