Today is the first day of the rest of your life. I’m sure we’ve all heard that phrase before. It circulated widely in the sixties, inspired songs, and continues to resonate today. It conveys this simple truth: Every day can be a fresh start. And while we can start something new at any time, we…
Recently my husband and I shared a meal with friends which featured a freshly-baked French baguette. The first morsel brought back memories of my time in Paris where, for a brief period of time, I lived above a boulangerie (bakery). Each morning my roommates and I would wake up to the sweet aroma of baking…
As I looked out at the pool, I noticed all three lanes designated for swimming laps had been taken by other people. Approaching the lifeguard, I asked if he could rope off one more lane for me. “Usually when the lap lanes are full, people just swim in the open pool area,” he responded. “I…
Living as a vagabond is unsettling. In fact, the word unsettled appears in one of the definitions of vagabond. For six weeks, my husband and I stayed in twelve different facilities ~ hotels, family homes, and Airbnb rentals. Some stays lasted one night, others a week. But inevitably we repeated the weary cycle of packing…
It’s a lot. My husband and I have often repeated that phrase in the last two weeks. We drove from Virginia to Colorado in order to facilitate my mother’s move to an Assisted Living facility and the sale of her house. Each day we make progress. And each day we see how much more we…
Gasping, I looked down at my left hand. No wonder the ring felt so light. The diamond was missing! Forcing my eyes open, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. It had just been a bad dream. Still, I couldn’t resist checking the ring in my drawer to be sure. The diamond, intact, twinkled at…
Her story gave me goosebumps. After working as a teacher’s assistant for several years, she became disillusioned and frustrated. The administration of the school repeatedly asked her to give false progress reports to the parents of her students. Although she loved working with children, she didn’t want to compromise her integrity. So she applied for…
“I don’t understand why it has to be so hard.” Tears filled my coworker’s eyes as she poured out her heart. Recently she had faced difficult challenges in seemingly every aspect of life ~ financial, relational, and medical. All her life she had worked hard. Now she felt surrounded by people who seemed to get…
Wrinkling my nose at the foul odor, I pulled my sweater from the washing machine. Two days before I had set the wash cycle in motion, fully intending to come back and hang the sweater to dry. But life got busy and I forgot about it. Unless I wanted to live with the stink, I…
