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Beginner's Heart

After big family get-togethers, most of us think of dishes. Me, I think of leftovers! Even after we send the holiday ham home w/ a niece & nephew, even after to-go packages are made for a sister, there are TONS of food left. So today? Breakfast is a doppio con wanna, homemade — two shots of…

In the aftermath of Christmas, I have time to appreciate. The hectic nature of a blended family Christmas —  two family dinners, juggling move-ins & move-outs, coordinating presents for the shared grandson,  not to mention travel & the ubiquitous winter viruses — means that Christmas is almost a blur.  Certainly there are moments my grandson…

I was raised by Christians. My next sister is a Christian, my husband a kind of existential Christian. Many of my dearest family (sister-in-law, cousins) are Christian pastors. I love that word: pastor.  From the Old French/ Latin, shepherd of souls. I prefer it to ‘minister,’ which has a top-down connotation to me. I’ve actually read the entire…

This is a time of mourning, for me. Of grieving for another America, one that we seem to have lost touch with in recent months (perhaps years…?). The America my father, my husband, my sisters and so many of my extended family & friends have fought for. The America of the Statue of Liberty, whose…

I am numb from the news. Every day, it seems, we lose more Americans to domestic terrorism. And I will not call the murderous killers of innocent men, women, & children ‘mentally unbalanced.’ To me, killing anyone is a sign of unbalance. Even if it’s in self-defence, the act is not one of balance. It’s one…

This has been the time of beginnings, which often appear — at least at first — as endings. Like the dandelion tuft above, which looks like the end of the bright yellow flower. But it isn’t, is it? It’s just the beginning. With luck, the soft fluffy parachute drops the dandelion seed on soil, where…

Perhaps it’s because I lived so many years in places where I was the ‘outsider.’ Perhaps it’s because 10 of those years were spent in Muslim countries. Perhaps it’s because I’ve traveled. A lot. As have my children, my husband, many of my friends & family. I have soooo many friends who are ‘other’: Muslim,…

Buddhists believe firmly in connection. We don’t always see eye-to-eye on other tenets — reincarnation, the divinity of leadership, vegetarianism. There are more. But that all things are connected? I know of no Buddhist who believes otherwise. It seems so very simple to me. And it has since I was a small child: each of…

It’s true. You can DECIDE to be happy. I promise. And it doesn’t reaallly take a whole lot of effort, despite what cranky people may think… There’s a (relatively) new field of research, happiness studies. It even has its own refereed journal, the Journal of Happiness Studies (catchy that, isn’t it? 🙂 ). Only in…

After any death, there is (at least in all the cultures I’m familiar with) a ceremony. In our case, Mom’s funeral. It was definitely a family affair: my sister-in-law led the service, reading well-known & well-loved excerpts from the Bible. Mom was raised a Baptist. She would have liked this. And there was music —…
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