The Journey From Guilt to Gratitude

When my late husband got his cancer diagnosis, we both felt shock, fear, and an instant sense that everything that seemed important only an hour ago, just…wasn’t. At least that’s how I felt, and that’s how he later said he felt. But I guess there is really no way I could have understood what he…

All Lives Matter (that used to be me)

I wrote a blog a while back about how sharing any kind of opinion that might stir controversy on social media is hard for me. I’m one of those “I don’t want to offend people” types. I, like many, would say that “no one’s opinions are changed by a social media post, so why bother?”…

Slactivism

Note: This blog was originally written and posted in August of 2018 and revised in August of 2022 in light of recent events Slacktivism is a relatively new term for “feel-good” measures in support of an issue or social cause that doesn’t take much effort. After reading about the phenomenon, I feel a little called…

The Acoustic Escape: Freedom Through Creativity

There’s a lot of chatter these days about infringements on our freedom. There’s no doubt a lot is out of our control when it comes to the virus and the inconveniences of staying safe. No one loves all this mask-wearing and social distancing, in addition to other safety guidelines that have affected our economy and…

ResearcHERS: Women Fighting Cancer

The movie Hidden Figures tells the story of three African-American women who worked behind the scenes as “computers” to solve problems for engineers and others at NASA. These women were as smart, or smarter than many of their male counterparts but because they were women, and because they were black during a time of segregation, it took…

Well-intentioned Comments

Has this happened to you? You are feeling sad, scared, or vulnerable. You share those emotions, and the response you get is not what you expect. You may not be able to recall the exact words someone said or what the well-meaning piece of advice they gave was, but you remember how it made you…

Coping through COVID with music

I know I’m not alone in searching for ways to get through this. I’ve been doing my best to be positive, and yet, as I scroll through social media, too much positive can be downright annoying, because it’s not real. Sometimes I have a “we got this” “it’s gonna be alright” attitude, and sometimes I…

When Life Gives You Grapes…

Wines For The Quarantine We are all spending time at home these days in either a self-imposed or forced quarantine. Whether you’re supporting local by ordering carry-out, cooking at home, or a little of both now is the time to pair that food with a lovely, and not so expensive wine. I don’t consider myself…

Downsizing: How We Did It

Many articles boast the mental health benefits of being grateful and how helpful it is to write down things you are thankful for daily. This morning, at the top of my grateful list, is the recent simplification of our lifestyle. My husband and I made a considerable change this past year. We moved from a…