When I popped the top on the little orange bottle this morning, I noticed that I have only about a week’s rations left of my antidepressant. As I swallowed the little white pill, two things came to mind. I thought about a piece from my manuscript Digging for the Light. And I wondered if I want to renew the prescription … Read More
Digging for the Light, Excerpt 1
My last post was about hummingbirds and was included in the Happy Happenssegment of this blog.The following excerpt relates to the day after my Gavin’s first birthday, my second Mother’s Day. * * * The date was Sunday, May 12, 1991. Mother’s Day. I spent that day, the one that should have been my second Mother’s Day, weeping.Over a … Read More
Don’t Be Afraid, I Want to Say; You Have Neighbors in Grief and Allies in Healing
Moonlit oceanon the eve of a storm “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” I recently stumbled across this Frederick Buechner quote. So poetic. So poignant. So precise in the way it captures life’s essence. In the last three days, I’ve encountered numerous stories with both those elements. Here is the … Read More
Dear John; How the Sagas of People Like John Edwards and John Travolta Affect People Like Me
I would have voted for you, John Edwards. The All-American Boy who grew up in Small Town America. The Boy Next Door with good ole’ fashioned values and a warm charm that is part and parcel to Southern-style hospitality. As it is, I don’t remember the last time I voted for a U.S. President. Politicians are liars and cheaters and … Read More
A Bittersweet Birthday
Last month I received a Save the Date notice from a friend whose son was born exactly one week before Gavin. I couldn’t help but smile at how rugged and manly this young man has become. How handsome he was standing next to his glowing bride-to-be. And then, a fleeting sadness passed over me. Ha… Each thought of Gavin’s birthday—today—has … Read More
A Pretty Side of Peril
As I write, Hurricane Irene is fizzling out, southerners are accessing the damage, and northerners will soon be following in their footsteps. We are far enough North that only the storm’s outer bands have reached us. The wind outside my home is blowing branches and hurling raindrops. But in spite of the gray skies, the chime on my deck rings … Read More
On Grief
Every hour, across the globe, stories of loss are headlined in newspapers, on radio and television. Each story, however, is both intricately and simply personal. As these stories unfold before the public eye, the griever is entering Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ 5 Stages of Grief, a complex web of emotion and thought. And though grief is a natural and essential part of … Read More
Summer Warmth
I climbed out of bed at eight this morning and headed straight for the kitchen. Four hours later, I had finally finished cleaning up after preparing several gallons of bottled lemonade, tea, and water; making two pounds of macaroni salad; two dozen deviled eggs; cutting up an enormous, juicy watermelon; assembling paper products, condiments, table coverings; and gathering an assortment … Read More
Sweet Tart Tears
Original post from May 11, which disappeared from this blog… Today marks my oldest son’s twenty-first birthday, that magic American number, our vision of ultimate freedom. I have had this day planned for weeks, but as I sit here, I cannot seem to find my stride. My every intention has been to celebrate this day. I ordered a surprise for … Read More
Ever After…
Eternity. Forever. Always. Never. As early as our first foray into the imagination, those words take a front seat. The timeless fairy tales our loved ones read to us, almost always end with “And they lived happily ever after…” For eternity. Forever. Always. The story must end, must have a conclusion. For children–humans–there must also be hope, love, laughter…promise… What we don’t see … Read More