Summed up into two words. I don’t remember when these two words first entered my vocabulary or when they became an obsession. The words circle my thoughts. Other times, they become an engine roaring, propelling me forward. I used those two words when I decided it was time to [...]
How does your garden grow? As I created a mental list of gardening chores for today, a nursery rhyme popped into my head: Mary, Mary, quite contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row. That took me [...]
We have much to learn from trees. I have always marveled at how trees can bend nearly to the ground and survive. Living near the Gulf Coast, I’ve watched trees as they brave the fierce winds of a hurricane, their branches arching to the ground. A few limbs may [...]
My sister sent me a text. Not unusual, except for her request. Can you send me a recipe from Mom for chicken and dumplings? A simple, straightforward request, right? Our mother never wrote down the recipe. Her mother never wrote down the recipe. I have never written down the [...]
Living on the edge of her future, a six-year-old swayed in the spotlight of the sun. Her voice, clear and unwavering, belted out the song. Standing on the edge of the stage, she feared nothing and no one. I don’t remember the song, but I do remember the girl. The [...]
Mundane, repetitive chores send my thoughts swirling and spiraling. I spent the day pressure-washing the deck. Not the most exciting way to spend my time, but the dirt and grime ran down the drain. I smiled. I let some thoughts, the negative ones, slide away alongside the grime. I [...]
I sometimes find myself grasping for gratitude even on the best of days. When I would complain or pout about some small misfortune, my mother offered little consolation. She shrugged and gave me these words: "Be thankful for what you have." Loss or change can strangle you. Being thankful [...]
I cherished my sandbox. My dad would pour sand into the box he built for me, and I would sift and push the sand around in little heaps for hours. But I found that playing in the black dirt of the vegetable and flower gardens exposed greater rewards. Small [...]
I don’t always start the day with spunk and enthusiasm. What can I, or any of us do when we find ourselves sanding in the space between where we are today and where we want to be? Do you “mind the gap?” “Mind the gap” originated around 1968 in [...]
Sometimes, I hesitate to say the thing that longs to be said to the people I care about and even strangers. Everyone can use a few kind words, but like me, we pause, leaving the words hanging in mid-air, only a thought bubble. Mark Twain, alias Samuel Clemens, remember [...]
