Bottling Fun

My sister arrived for Easter weekend on Thursday night excited to have a 4-day holiday from work. After her 2-hour drive my husband, Dave, greets her at the door. He has a gigantic grin on his face—not because he is happy to see her (although he loves when his ‘silly sister-in-law’ visits), but he wanted to tell her his big news. “Guess what I’m doing tomorrow?” What Dave? “I’m riding into town. You know why?” No why? “ It’s Friday.”  (Dave’s conversations are riddled with... 

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Stuck In My Story?

Earlier this week I watched Oprah’s First Lifeclass: Tour and there were so many aha’s I had to bring out my writing pad. Relationship expert, Iyanla Vanzant spoke about PAIN—not our physical pains but our emotional, mental and spiritual pain. Iyanla’s definition of pain = pay attention inward now. She said “having one story in your mind about yourself can trap you in a world of pain”. Yes, I know what that feels like because 3 years ago I found myself swirling around in a pool of massive... 

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The ‘D’ Word

Everywhere in the news there are stories about the rising incident of the dreaded “D” disease. It seems there is more mass panic over developing Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia than developing cancer. When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the doctor will usually have a plan for the patient. There is treatment, hope for remission, and guidelines on what to do. But being diagnosed with dementia is different. When we left the doctor’s office 5 years ago after my husband,... 

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The Dance

There is a beautiful song written by Garth Brooks titled the Dance. The first time I read part of the lyrics was in an obituary in 1988. A young friend of my son was in a tragic horse accident and her father wrote…”how could I have known you’d ever say goodbye. And now I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain But I’d of had to miss the dance Holding you”. Every time I experience pain or... 

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Don’t Make Assumptions

It is 5:30 in the morning and our ginger cat with white boots is knocking at the front door. Actually he is scratching at the side glass panels to let me know he has another present for me. Usually I see the minimal remains of his capture (a mouse) but this morning I guess he didn’t feel like eating fur and left most of it for me to pick up. Living in the wild has its ups, downs, good and bad. I love living in the country but it isn’t always rosy. Just before letting our kitty kat in the front... 

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Sprained Toe & the 5 Stages of Grieving

Last Wednesday I sprained the base of my 3rd toe on my left foot on one of the boulders around our pond. I was cleaning the pond filter and in a bit of hurry to finish my to-do list before I left for a trip to Boulder, Colorado. I was so concerned with ticking off my list that I didn’t pay much attention to the pain in my foot—except that I had a scrape on the inside of my toe and some nail polish had come off. Little did I know that this (stupid little) toe would cause me significant ‘grief’... 

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Loving What You Do Today

Have you ever thought about what you would be doing if you had 6 months to live? I love this question because it makes me stop and think about my life and ask…am I doing what I love to do today? I was reading an article the other day about a study with people who have terminal cancer and are given 6 months to live. Do you know why a significant number of them go into remission? Because for the first time in their life they ‘let go’ of pleasing other people. They aren’t concerned what... 

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If You Have a Lemon, Make a Lemonade

Sometimes when I read a personal growth book I like to open it at a random page to see my ‘message of the day’. Last night I started reading Dale Carnegie’s book—‘How to Stop Worrying and Start Living’ and the chapter was titled…’if you have a lemon, make a lemonade’. It is a story about a woman, Thelma, who moves with her husband to a military training center in the middle of the Mojave Desert, California. She lives in a one-room shack in the unbearable heat–125 degrees in... 

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Brain Rule #1

Last night I snuggled into bed and opened up my new book titled Brain Rules by John Medina. He is a molecular biologist and research consultant. The book talks about how the brain works and the “12 rules” for getting the most out of it. To no surprise, Rule #1 is Exercise. Medina said…”from an evolutionary perspective, our brains developed while working out–walking as many as 12 miles a day”. He said we aren’t made to sit at a desk for 8 hours and we crave that ‘active’ experience.... 

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Dealing With Sadness in Caregiving

Once a month I’m a guest on Denise Brown’s radio show on caregiving.com. She comes up with interesting topics and this month it was Sadness in Caregiving. Before the show airs, I like to do some prep work but I was having difficulty with this one. Why? Because by default, I run away from the feeling of sadness. I grew up in a family where we were reprimanded for crying. I didn’t want people to think that I was weak and couldn’t  handle what life was giving me. I was also... 

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