My dad died in early April and a good friend passed away, from the other deadly ‘c’ disease, cancer, in mid-June. In the middle of that short time span, I was asked to be a panelist for a webinar, called The Effect of COVID-19 on Grief, Bereavement & Loss (view the video recording here). And … Continue reading Grief, Empathy and Resilience
Certain songs and lyrics mean more at different times in your life, right? These days I’ve been thinking about Dan Fogelberg’s Part of the Plan and wanted to shoot out a quick blog to share the lyrics because they might speak to you too in these difficult pandemic times (and difficult times all around). Dan … Continue reading Love When You Can …
They say if you can put a man on the moon … Well they did put some men on the moon (about 50 years ago, in fact) and this year, I got my mom on Zoom. Once you finish reading this blog, you decide which feat is more impressive. I should start by saying, I … Continue reading My Mom on Zoom
We said a final farewell to my dad on Friday, April 10, three days after he passed away. Under the heavy Coronavirus cloud we’re all living under, there was no large gathering of guests, no music played, no Shivah sitting and no formal funeral service. On a gray, windy day where we saw rain, hail, … Continue reading Thanks Dad
Give me love, give me love, give me peace on Earth Give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth Give me hope, help me cope with this heavy load … George Harrison’s Give Me Love song was running through my head last Sunday when Jim and I were sitting in the pews … Continue reading Sending Hope and Love
At the very end of the movie Almost Famous, young budding Rolling Stone music critic ‘William Miller’ asks up-and-coming rock ‘n roll guitarist ‘Russell Hammond’ what he loves about music. Without missing a beat, Russell answers, “In a word … everything.” I kind of feel the same way. My father’s violin playing fills my earliest … Continue reading In a Word … Music
I know I’m dating myself (the expression alone probably ‘dates’ me!) but do you remember the phrase ‘Marcia, Marcia, Marcia’ from the ‘70s Brady Bunch sitcom and ‘90s spoof movie with the same name? It goes like this. Middle daughter Jan is jealous of her seemingly perfect older sister Marcia who appears to do everything … Continue reading Second Fiddle
“A person is really alive when he is moving forward to something more.” I remember, clear as day, sitting on my college suite couch with my then-boyfriend, now husband, Jim. I was telling him that was the quote I picked for my high school yearbook and we had this pretty deep debate about being happy … Continue reading In and Out of the Moment
O.k. so not my most original idea, but to kick off 2020, I’d like to share my New Year’s Resolutions. Just eight words: Eat less/exercise more; worry less/sleep more. Have a great year! Seriously, that’s my shortlist. On a deeper level, I have three ‘guiding principles’ I’m hoping I can live up to this year … Continue reading My 2020 AAAs
We’re all on a continuous learning and growing path if we’re open to it. I’ve always pretty much known that. But this past year – a roller coaster ride for me in so many ways – I’ve experienced it up-close and personal. 2019 was a year of unpredictable occurrences, to say the least. And I … Continue reading 2019 – My Story
