It’s Thanksgiving Day and I’m in shock. My friend died unexpectedly last night. We had an hour long conversation in the afternoon and we talked about the next time we would get together. At 10:30 PM our mutual friend called to tell me that my dear sister-friend had died at 7:30….just a few hours after …
Month: November 2024
Going With The Flow….Day 27/30
We’re flexing. We’re rolling with the punches. This Thanksgiving holiday had 3-4 potential scenarios. I’m the one that communicates and coordinates. That’s what I did. And each scenario seemed possible….until it wasn’t. Then one of the scenarios fell into place. The time was set. The menu was planned. The food was purchased. And then it …
Healed By A Song…Day 26/30
Today, a piece of my heart was healed by a song. I’ve always stood in the margins, wondering why I was there. The fringe didn’t seem like a choice. It’s simply where I was. Was it because of my biology? After all, I wasn’t really his daughter. But I have clear memories of him demonstrating …
Ode To My Brother….Day 25/30
Photo by Dinah 💜 Another family story…. November has always been birthday month. My husband, several friends, my mom and my brother John are/were all November babies. My brother John was 6 years older and the closest to me in age. My other 2 brothers were 8 and 10 years older. In 2007, John was …
Running on Empty….Day 24/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Hello friends! I’m going to be honest with you. I feel like I’m running out of words this month. There’s only a week left in Nanopoblano and I’m not sure if I’ll make it. I’ve been wondering about this lack of inspiration for days…and I think I just figured out a …
Pics…Day 23/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Words escape me today. But I’m trying to keep my commitment of a post every day in November. So, rather than bore you with drivel, I’ll let nature do the talking…. Thanks for visiting. Wishing you peace. I’m glad you’re here 💜 This post is part of the month long blogging …
Dinah’s Coffee Chat…Day 22/30
Hello and thanks for stopping by. These virtual coffee chats are a nice way to check in. How are you? If you’re in the US, are you planning to do anything for Thanksgiving next week? Holidays can be such a mixed bag of emotions and expectations. I can say that, for me, the holiday that …
Saying YES…Day 21/30
Photo by Don (c) Meeting new people and developing new friendships is challenging as we age…or at least as I age. Most of the people in my life are friends that I’ve known and loved for years. And I feel lucky to have them! But I’m always open to adding to the list of people …
Dysfunctional Family Bingo Revisited…Day 20/30
Photo by Don (c) I wanted to get this into your hands early so that you have time to plan to use it this gathering season… The holidays are upon us. Whether you love them or whether you hate them… They come with their own special brand of stress. So this post is designed to …
Continue reading Dysfunctional Family Bingo Revisited…Day 20/30
Musings…Day 19/30
Today was a challenging day. Fear gripped me by the throat and wouldn’t let go.… At least for a while. Fear is not a place that I visit often. I’m usually pretty grounded and pretty levelheaded. If I’m fearful about something, I’m usually able to figure out what I need to do and the fear …
Remembering…Day 18/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Remembering I’ve spent a good deal of my life, choosing to forget, to release to move on Remembering was unproductive at best… Damaging at worst. But remembering has once again become important, a necessity now So I’m choosing to remember… who I was before I became who I am I’m recalling …
Changing Seasons…Day 17/30
Photo by Dinah (c) The trees are almost bare here. And our garden has been cut down and put to bed. The almost monochromatic landscape has a unique beauty. We had a gorgeous fall this year. Here are some moments of fall Enjoy. Photo by Don (c) I’m glad you’re here. 💜 This post is …
Sisters…Day 16/30
I was the youngest of fourI had three older brothersI always wanted a sisterFamily was always a challenging subject for meI was the one that didn’t fitEver We were the proverbial rock and hard place meeting and refusing to yield As strange as it may sound….I'm actually proud of thatI didn’t compromise myself to gain …
Dinah’s Coffee Chat…Day 15/30
Photo by Dinah Hello Thanks for stopping by for our Friday coffee chat. If we were having coffee, I would be so very happy to spend time with you. I would want to hear how your life is going and what you’re looking forward to. I would want to know what’s making you happy these …
Things That Make Me Smile….Day 14/30
From Facebook Well… I started a blog post at noon and then got several phone calls and never got back to it. It’s waiting for me and will hopefully become a post in the next couple of days. It’s pretty late….for me anyway… So I’m not coming up with much to say. Consequently… I decided …
Happy Birthday Don…Day 13/30
The tree he planted 20 years ago has This is the 4thu year of my blog and of my involvement in Nanopoblano. So it’s also the 4th year of me doing a Happy Birthday post for my husband, Don. Today is his birthday, an opportunity to celebrate him! Don is…. -A strong, quiet presence that …
Lake Michigan….Day 12/30
Photo by Dinah (c) I have always lived near big water… Either the Great Lakes or the ocean. I feel like that has been a huge gift throughout my life. I’m not at all inclined to be on or in the water. But I do love being near it, seeing it, and feeling its soothing …
Life…Day 11/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Life is getting ahead of me.I’m woefully behind in everything…You name it…I’m behind in it And I’m realizing that, before I was behind, I was numbAnd before I was numb, I was overwhelmedAnd before I was overwhelmed, I was hurt, deeply hurt Hurt was never valid in my family of origin. …
Surrender….Day 10/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Surrender can mean many different things. When I was a child, watching TV, surrender was something that every bad guy had to do by the end of the show. Back then, it meant that good had triumphed. As an young adult, it meant something deeper. I listened to Sarah McLachlan singing …
Emphatic Connection ….Day 9/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Being connected to people and animals and places has always been immediate and imperative. But the word by itself is inadequate. It’s actually more than just an awareness of the other being or place. It’s a deeply rooted feeling, a knowing that is undeniable. For as long as I can …
Time to Heal…Day 8/30
Photo by Dinah (c) "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it …
Celebrating….Day 7/30
Photo by Dinah (c) I want to learn to celebrateTo celebrate everythingThe way the birds celebrate the morningThe way the sun celebrates every day by rising and going strong I want to learn to appreciateTo appreciate even the hard thingsBecause it’s the hard things that taught me more about who I am and who I …
Spirals….Day 6/30
Photo by Dinah (c) joy and sorrow are absolutely connected and must always be sorrow is constriction, a folding into self joy is expansion, an open embrace I must unfold those places within myself that were so immediately creased as a protection from early pain. those lines of my protected self are so deep that …
DNA/NPE Realities…Day 5/30
Photo by Dinah(c) I never met her. Didn’t even know she existed until six years ago. But Kelly, the DNA Search Angel, found an old newspaper article about her. She was widowed young and raised three kids on her own by managing the local hardware store that she owned. The article said she raised money …
Mornings…Day 4/30
I remember when I was young, I was thrilled by every single morning. I always woke up, excited and hungry! I would get out of bed and go from one family member to another, trying to wake them… at whatever ungodly hour it was. No one shared my enthusiasm or my need for food! They …
Soul Speak….Day 3/30
Photo by Dinah (c) When I ask my soul what it wants to say, I sense depth and awareness that render language almost useless The message of the soul seems less about words and more about knowing. It starts first with the knowing of who I am…who I have always been… Through every iteration, every …
I Am Love…Day 2/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Life…We all know the truth….its beautiful and heartbreaking and thrilling and terrifying. And sometimes it’s all of that at once. So we all find ways to cope. Some people stay busy. Others stay still. Some read or watch tv or do yoga and some ride their bike until they’re ready to …
And so it begins….Day 1/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Hello and welcome to my blog. You’ve stopped by at the right time. I seem to neglect this space for most of the year. But then rediscover it every year for the Nanopoblano writing challenge. I just passed my 4th year “blog-aversary” which, like any anniversary, is causing me to think …
With Angels and Elephants 