presence

Appreciating their presence

This was originally posted in December 2014.  Thought it worth sharing for the holidays. “I wear the chain I forged in life….I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” ― Jacob Marley’s ghost; Charles Dickens, […]

Read More

From Crisis to Success

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. ~Vincent Van Gogh   It’s one of my favorite toys that only comes out of storage during December because it happens to be red and green.  A red base with green tree trunks […]

Read More

Shhh…

The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes – ah, that is where the art resides~Artur Schnabel Shhh.  Do you hear that?  No? Oh, that’s because it’s just silence and the stillness of the moment. Isn’t it beautiful?  No?  It makes you uncomfortable? You want the television or radio […]

Read More

The Future is Ours, and It is Theirs

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ― Warren Buffett They said it had to be done, and we did it.  Removing those three wonderful trees from the front yard was painful, on the pocketbook and on the heart.  Roots that had been exposed in the eroding […]

Read More

Show Up

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Woody Allen Young parents are often surprised by how quickly life changes when a baby joins the family.  There is a perceived (and somewhat real) loss of freedom, and for a new mother, this is especially true if she is staying home for any length of time.  The laundry piles […]

Read More

When Life Stands Still

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson My husband called to tell me that a lady from his hometown had died and that the funeral would […]

Read More

After the Storm…

In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful. ~Alice Walker As we walk through the neighborhood, my husband asks “Which kind is this?”  Elm? I reply with some hesitation, as I look at the leaves and the bark.  “If you had had Mrs. Ross, you’d […]

Read More

All work and no play…the secret to society’s failings?

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” ― Plato Mac and Nano are two funny fellas.  When we arrive at Nano’s to visit, Mac is literally wiggling like a worm in his excitement.  As soon as the leash is unlatched from his collar, Mac […]

Read More

Right Here. Right Now.

“If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.” Benjamin Franklin “What is the biggest obstacle facing the family right now? It is over-commitment; time pressure. There is nothing that will destroy family life more insidiously than hectic schedules and busy lives…”  James Dobson   Is my to-do list ready for tomorrow?  Is […]

Read More

Telling Your Story…

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”  Maya Angelou       “Everyone has a story,” I remarked to my friend as she blessed my heart over learning things about me she didn’t know.       “We both know that,” she responded.  We don’t have to know much to […]

Read More

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…