adventure

Walking Away for Fresh Air, Fresh Perspective

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” ― John Muir ♦♦♦ The photo still leaves me feeling a mixture of emotions. I was six years old. I was walking up the driveway toward the road in front of our […]

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Taste and See — Life is Good

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt ♦♦♦ The call came, “Hey! I’ve ended up with two extra tickets to a great show. I know it’s last minute, but do you want to […]

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What are your moments?

“We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten” ― Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand: Diaries, 1935-1950 Remember that time… It’s my favorite line from spending a few months with a good friend driving to small communities every day, and it’s a line I often use when I […]

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those unexpected moments

“Why not seize the pleasure at once? —How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!” ~Jane Austen There was a job in the next state that offered more security, better benefits, more time at home with the family, and a shorter commute to work. Why didn’t she explore the possibilities? Why not at least interview […]

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What’s Important?

“Make room for the real important stuff.” —Tigger” Helping my mother move this week, my thought process hasn’t been what it normally might be. The question of the importance of the people and things in our lives seems paramount to talk about with you over anything else. What is it that occupies your time? What have […]

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That Splinter

“As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.” ~Irish Proverb Hands washed. Needle and sharp tweezers sterilized. Brown Bottle ready to pour. Magnifying glass nearby. Good lighting available. Ointment at hand. So begins surgery when I decide to operate on myself. Splinters. I dread it getting […]

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After the Honeymoon

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” ― Thomas A. Edison Standing in the church of my childhood, I made a vow to love and honor this guy I had known for almost 18 months for the rest of our lives. I was 23 years old […]

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Step One

“The first step is always the hardest” ― Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever There is just nothing quite like a new journal. If you’ve never been a journaler, maybe it’s easier for you to appreciate the feeling of a new package of notebook paper — opening the plastic, straightening the pieces of paper, and clasping them […]

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Endings

There´s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall And the bells in the steeple too And up in the nursery an absurd little bird Is popping out to say “cuckoo”  ~Oscar Hammerstein II   It’s been a little less than four years since a news editor at the Daily News Journal […]

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Shedding the Skin that No Longer Fits

The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come… We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.– Joseph Campbell A lawyer in New Orleans took his family to a small town in North Carolina as temporary […]

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Thoughts to Encourage

Joy is the will which labors, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph.~ William Butler Yeats

Whether you think you can or think you can’t you’re right. - Henry Ford

The best way out is always through. ~ Robert Frost

Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. ~ Theodore N. Vail

Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall. ~ Oliver Goldsmith

You must be the change you want to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi

Nothing helps like a good nap…

Birds are Beautiful

A Dog is Faithful…