Just What She Always Never Wanted

When we look back on Christmases past, we like to remember gifts received, especially those cherished items that we have held close to our hearts for a lifetime. But there also were those gifts we remember; the ones which made us shudder, shed a disappointed tear, or for one poor woman, hide in my closet […]

The Christmas Culprit Came Clean

My mother and I were sitting together in her room, talking about Christmases past, and I finally confessed to, and explained our longtime family mystery of misplaced toys. And when I say misplaced, I do not mean lost. I mean a toy that started out in one child’s pile of toys under the Christmas tree, […]

An Easter Lily For Dreams Deferred

My son and daughter-in-law brought me an Easter Lily. It is my very favorite flower, and this one is particularly beautiful. They surprise me with one every year, and even when they come into the house, and say, “Close your eyes…”, it never occurs to me until I open my eyes that my gorgeous lily […]

To Mr. Putin, With Love…

The Budapest Memorandum, January 14, 1994: The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine … to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine…. Yours Truly, Bill Clinton, John Majors, Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kuchma And here we are […]

Valentine’s Day Love In A Book

A couple days ago, a friend reminded me of a treasured book. I recommended it to her quite a while back, and the report was both she and her daughters have read it, plus watched and loved the movie. To Kill A Mockingbird. For this reader, a great book from beginning to end, and one I relish reading […]

Ring-Tailed Lemur On Your Birthday Cake

We celebrated a birthday this past weekend, and it was spectacular. I watched a little girl move with ease throughout the day, knowing she unapologetically was the complete focus and center of attention. This small person knows who she is, and with a keen sense of herself, gracefully shared the bounty of her birthday with […]

A Corner Turned

First year of college behind me, I was ready to head over the mountains to San Francisco, the promised land for someone who needed to kick valley home dust off her sandals. It was June, 1966, and I could not wait to escape the somnambulance of life in a place where Civil Rights, Cesar Chavez, and […]