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 …
Tag: Heart matters
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
Dinah’s Holiday Hello
Hello my friend!So….the holidays have arrived. They tend to do this every year whether we’re ready or not. This year I feel acutely aware of the vast differences in where we all are emotionally during this time that Hallmark has branded as joyous and magical. And, for some people, it really is wonderful….to those folks, …
Disability -Day 29/30
Photo by Dinah (c) Disability means something different to everyone. For some, disability means “those people”. For me, disability means an ever-changing me….and it seems to be swallowing up more of me every year. As a child, disability meant that I didn’t walk well…that was the biggest thing. There was more but I chose to …
Flute Music-Day 25/30
Today has been a good day, a busy day…and I’m tired. But I’m committed to posting every day this month. So, I’ll share with you what I shared with our granddaughter. She plays flute in the school band. I’ve always loved flute music! Of course, when considering good flute music, you MUST discuss Locomotive Breath …
Dinah’s Chat About Continued Gratitude -Day 24/30
Photo by Dinah It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I’m still grateful. I’m grateful that our day was quiet and drama-free. This wasn’t always the case. I’m grateful for peace. My friends have become my family. They support me and challenge me. They help me to keep trying to be a better person. I’m grateful …
Continue reading Dinah’s Chat About Continued Gratitude -Day 24/30
Happy Thanksgiving -Day 23/30
It’s Thanksgiving here in the US. That means different things for different people. For some people… It’s a welcomed chance to get together with family from near and far. It’s an opportunity to continue family tradition.For others…. It’s a reminder of family dynamics that didn’t/don’t work or of family lost… Either physically or to dysfunction…or …
Alchemy- Day 21/30
Photo by Dinah (c) I’m sharing this for all of us. I’m sharing it for myself because I want to internalize it. I want it to move from my head to my heart to my bones so that it’s not just a memory. I want it to become a knowing, a truth that my body …
Boomerang -Day 18/30
Photo by Dinah (c) I am a boomerang I almost always come back Perhaps this is my own personal Right of Return We were young and married and forgot that love can only flourish where appreciation dwells We ended our storyAnd then returned 2 years later and rebuilt everything Starting with ourselves Boomerang I worked …
Dinah’s Chat About Dysfunctional Family Bingo -Day 17/30
Photo by Don (c) Can you feel it? It’s in the air. The HoliDAZE are coming! I decided to write about this earlier than usual because I wanted to be able to share author Martha Beck’s ingenious holiday coping game in time for Thanksgiving. And I want to be sure to stipulate that this is …
Continue reading Dinah’s Chat About Dysfunctional Family Bingo -Day 17/30
Friendship -Day 16/30
Photo by Don (c) Photo by Don (c) I saw an old friend today Not a text Not a Zoom call Actual face to face time It was wonderful Why do we wait so long to see the people we love? We sat in a restaurant for 3 hours Talking, laughing, Our past/present/future blended into …
Our Beginning -Day 13/30
Photo by Dinah (c) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DON!Usually, on my husband’s birthday, I write a post about some of the wonderful qualities that make him who he is. But today it’s a different kind of day so it merits a different kind of post. Today, he enters a new decade… That makes this day even more …
Another Liminal Thought
Intuitive Creativity Class taught by Lauren Sapala… Prompt: Choose a color. Make something beautiful using that color I’ve thought about this for 2 days and I’ve decided to write something rather to try to draw/paint/create something. Writing seems to be the only medium that sparks me these days. And, for the last 6 months, that …
Dinah’s Chat About Bocelli
Photo by Francesco Baistrocchi This will be the last official coffee chat of 2022. Our host is taking the next two weeks off. I hope to continue posting but… Just in case… I thought I would leave you with a Christmas gift of music. I’ve never had a sophisticated pallet in ANYTHING! The food I …
Life Said No
Photo by Don (c) My plans were solid, my resolve rock hard And life said no So I rewrote the script and committed to the revised plan, the direction that seemed to be the next right move And life said no I’ve lost count now. I can’t remember how many times I’ve journeyed in good …
NanoPoblano Wrap-up–Day 30/30!!!!!!!
Photo by Dinah (c) Everyone knows that athletes and artists … (And probably a bunch of other groups that I can’t think of right now)… practice a lot. Most practice daily… For hours! And why do they do this? They do it to build muscle memory. In order to be good at what they do, …
A Poem for You-Day 29/30
Photo by Dinah (c) I’m finally admitting that I do, indeed, have a bug. It’s not serious but…ugh! However, I’m determined to keep my commitment to posting every day for the month of November. So, I give you this poem that I saw on Facebook a year or so ago. I loved the reminder that …
Grateful—Day 24/30
Photo by Dinah (c) The sun is out and we might hit 50 degrees today. I’m grateful. Football is on TV. My husband is grateful. There’s kibble and water in the appropriate bowls. The cats are grateful. (I think anyway) I’m also grateful for: Photo by Dinah (c) Photo by Dinah (c) Photo by Dinah …
Friends and Distance—Day 22/30
Photo by Dinah (c) This will be a shorter post… The day has gotten away from me a bit. However, I committed to doing a post every day. So, I’m going to do my best to do that. But I also want to respect your time and not blab on too long if I don’t …
Big Life—Day 20/30
Photo by Dinah “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” —-Mother Teresa My husband and I just watched the Netflix miniseries called… From Scratch. It’s a true story adapted from the memoir by the same name written by Tembi Locke. If you haven’t seen it, …
Strange Day (NPE/MPE)—Day 19/30
Photo by Don Today has been a strange day for a number of reasons. The weather has turned too cold too quickly. We’re trying to plan for some holiday stuff and personal stuff. And I just feel a bit “off" today. Then I remembered that today would have been my mom’s 87th birthday. And tomorrow …
Challah (NPE/MPE) —Day 18/30
Photo from Unsplash Several weeks ago I told my husband that I wanted to buy some challah. That’s a bigger deal than it sounds because we have to drive about 40 minutes to get it. But I really wanted it.It seemed so strange to me. For most of my life I have not allowed myself …
Heart Matters—Day 17/30
Photo by Don (c) We saw an old friend yesterday. It was only for a minute or two. I hugged him and said… “I love you“ because it was true. Even though I have only seen him probably four times in the last 10 years, I still love him. Our families were very connected years …
With Angels and Elephants 