Eighteen years of smiles
Learning to let go of the ones we have held closest is one of life's hardest and most important lessons. The first step is recognizing that we have to grow, just as our kids do.....
Read moreAnne Heffron's new book with a raw, honest take on one woman's life after adoption
What does it feel like to be adopted? To know that someone gave you up and someone else welcomed you home? The answer depends on who you ask...
Read moreSometimes you have to do nothing so you can be better at doing something. Here's what I mean.....
Read moreMy trio
To our fathers and our children's' fathers: This is why we need you and why we are so grateful for you today and every day.....
Read moreIce cream was always our thing. And now that tradition holds immense healing power. Your traditions can do the same for you.....
Read moreSo what happened on that fifteen hour flight with Bradley Cooper?
This.....
The most gorgeous man on the planet... and Bradley Cooper
My hubby's kind of private and he wanted to respect the actor's privacy, too, but he gave me the okay to let you know he was extremely impressed by Bradley, who was incredibly down to earth and an ingratiating guy who's a class act. And thank goodness the man also knows how to take a selfie. Because Hubs does not.
If you weren't a fan before, you should be now. This guy is the real deal.
Hope you don't mind my indulgence here, Bradley! Thanks for the picture... and for the memory!
(If you missed the set up to this, check out my micro blog on June 12.)
The great Gordie Howe (right) with Johnny Wilson (left) and a beaming young fan.
It strikes a chord when the world loses its great ones. I guess many of us thought Gordie would go on forever. After all, the man seemed super-human, playing pro hockey until he was in his early fifties, something that is unheard of. For me, it also strikes a chord because.....
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My husband texted me from his long haul flight today, telling me he’s sitting next to a guy who's really nice. Interesting, too. The next text reads, “Bradley Cooper!"
Read moreI stood in the back yard, wearing my old blue jeans with holes in the knees and a tatty, army green t-shirt that should probably be in the trash. I paused to look at the small plot of barren land before me. It looked like nothing good could ever come from it, but this empty space teaches us important things we need to know about life....
Read moreWhy do we hesitate to share news about accolades that are exciting and make us feel good? Instead we should shout it from the roof top in a spirit of gratitude and joy! And today, you and I begin right here.....
Read moreI was only eight years old when I first saw the effect of war. It was 1971, fifteen years after the start of a conflict that eventually escalated in Vietnam and became a hotbed of controversy in the U.S. More than fifty-seven-thousand Americans had died in the fighting thus far. Fathers, uncles and neighbors didn’t come home. Some were killed; others were held in horrid conditions as prisoners of war a world away in a place I had not yet heard of, but soon would....
Read moreThe fisherman doesn't try to pull in the whole ocean of fish at one time. He puts his sites on one. Just one. And then another. And another.....
Read moreForgiveness. It can be like water in our hands, slipping away no matter how hard we try to hold onto it. Especially with the big hurts that cut deep, with betrayals and insults that leave lasting scars, with apologies that are never spoken. Sometimes, we just can't seem to let it go, forgive, move on. Even when we want to.....
Read moreThe other day the phone rang.
"Hello?" I answered, bristling at what I suspected was another solicitation, another ridiculous interruption in my very busy day. Yes, it was a stranger, but I had no idea how important that call would be....
Read moreToday I made this heart of brownies for my new best friend. Yeah, I know they’re not great looking, but they sure are packed with love for this guy who has a little something to teach us all.....
Read moreAfter lots of conversations with fellow parents, I found a new way to look at my crazy teenager that helps me hang on to my dwindling sanity: It's the race horse analogy. Teens run full speed ahead, yet they are unaware that blinders allow them to see only what is straight in front of them and not the peripheral pitfalls.....
Read moreI love that life's teachers are placed in our paths every day, often in unexpected places. They make us think a little differently, a little better. Lee is one of those teachers.....
Read moreParenting is a slow progression of goodbyes, of letting go bit by bit until the ones we love fly away to begin their own journey. First steps. First grade. Middle school. And today, this birdie heads off for a class trip to Washington D.C. and his older brother and I will spend the next couple of days looking at colleges. Colleges! Already!
How can it be that time has moved this quickly and my birdies have moved ever closer to the edge of the nest? Parenting is the only time in life when we willingly pour everything we have into another human being, despite knowing full well they will leave us. This is real love. Selfless love. The Love we learn from the Top down. It is the joy and the plight of every one of us who answers to the call of Mom or Dad.
You have to figure it out. We all do. How are you going to deal with your difficult one? You know, the one who drives you crazy. Ranting, raging, exploding crazy.....
Read moreIt takes more than than one woman to fully raise a child and Mother’s Day weekend has me thinking a lot about that...
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