2020

Throwback Thursday, Flashback Friday, Memory Lane Monday... it is all about remembering and reminiscing, laughing and celebrating... These are pictures of "my kids". Kids I tutored every week my sophomore year in college. At El Barrio. An after school program for inner city kids whose teachers taught in English but many of whose parents didn't even speak English as a second language. So they couldn't help with homework. These kids taught me how to teach. How to live with compassion. How to tell jokes in Spanish. Pray in Arabic. And how to dance. In turn I taught them how to multiply. English slang. That they could be loved by a stranger. And how to bob for apples. They are in their early twenties by now. And I pray they stuck with reading and multiplying. I hope they are happy and embracing life. Loving and living and laughing. Dressing up for Halloween and perhaps even remembering the silly girl who taught them to bob for apples all those years ago. E...

I like to do yoga in the mornings before I run. Typically my dog Jovi will do one of two things: sit on the couch and watch, or join me by showing off how much better she is at downward and upward dog than me. But this week she has decided that it would be fun to lick my face while I am in these inverted poses. And keep licking until I fall down laughing. At which point she licks me some more. Since this keeps happening I have noticed how beautiful it is to laugh out loud. To hear myself laugh out loud. And to feel that laughter deep in my belly.  (Give it a try. Even if you have to fake it at first. Take the time to listen to yourself, and yourself alone, laugh out loud!) Yesterday I spent several hours laughing with a friend from high school. Telling stories. Ones that involved the two of us as well as memories we've made in the years we lost touch. I appreciated the beauty of my laugh mingling with his. Inspiring one another to laughter. How nice it is to smile until you...

I got an email from my boss yesterday. A forward really. From an author. A response to the manuscript critique I did recently (remember the one that was late because Robert and I were kickin it at Applebees?). The author was asking for a new deadline. So he could revise the manuscript. "I'd like to go through it again and take all of these critiques into account."  This is an editor's dream response! And a complete surprise. Typically writers (I am one, so I can say this) think they are perfect. They have reasons and justifications for everything an editor suggests might be changed. And you can't blame them. After all, I spent 15 hours editing something he spent his whole life writing (through experience, study, dreaming, writing and rewriting). So for him to receive the feedback so willingly was like being handed the winning lottery ticket of editing.  But more than that. I was simply shocked. That he could be helped. By me .  *** Short...

For the children's sermon at church yesterday Linda brought a box full of "samples". Miniature bottles of shampoos and lotions. And explained to the kids that these samples are meant to entice you to buy the larger version. Similarly, she said, we are to be samples of God, enticing others to want to know Him, by living our lives like Jesus would. "How can we be like these samples?" she asked. "Babies!" Tessa shouted, perhaps conjuring a smaller version of herself, yet further convincing me that my niece has a direct line to God. Because in my eyes, it was the perfect example. Babies are far too perfect to be samples of humanity. They are surely samples of God and all His goodness, mercy, and love. Created in His image. Changing our hearts for the better when they come into our lives. Babies certainly make me want to know the Father more. EMBRACE SAMPLES . The Bible tells us to become like little children in order to enter the Kingdom of H...

Today is  Make A Difference Day . The idea around Make A Difference Day is to unite millions of volunteers around the world in community service projects, proving that one day, one act of kindness, is all it takes to make a difference. Imagine if we lived to make a difference every day! There are a million different ways we can make a difference. Remember  Larry DePrimo , the NYPD officer who gave a barefoot homeless man a pair of boots last November? He made a difference! Do you know about  Angel Tree , a program that gives gifts to kids whose parents are in prison? They are making a difference! An article in the  Huffington Post  last month reminds us not to neglect our own families when we are looking to make a difference. The American Widow Project is an amazing organization that deserves my support, but what about my own grandma who is in the nursing home in need of visitors? What about my nephew who has a football game this morning and is...

I absolutely love the hostess at the spa I frequent . She recognizes me, takes good care of me, and makes up words to meet her needs. Words like comfortability. Which, according to Google, a host of other people have also made up and like to use. But so far it's only a valid word if you consider Wikipedia a valid source. This is my hostess's context, which she said to a new client yesterday: "Undress for your massage to your comfortability level." "Comfort" would fit just fine in this context. But "comfortability" adds an interesting dimension. Comfort is to feel at ease. But comfortability might be your ability to feel at ease. Regardless of the circumstances, some of us are simply more able to feel comfortable than others. After our massages the woman who was told to undress to her comfortability level shared with me that it was the best massage she had ever had. That she wished her mother could have joined her. But she died in July. Su...

Anniversaries are all about celebrating what you love about and have learned from that special someone in your life. Four years ago today I had the honor of marrying the most wonderful, talented, loving, and giving man I have ever met. He had this amazing ability to know me intuitively, which allowed him to simultaneously love me for who I was and inspire me to be better. He is the reason my heart is as big as it is today. Even though we chose not to remain married, I still abide by my vow to love him and cherish all he taught me and continues to teach me until my last day. On this, our first anniversary apart, I refuse to dwell on what isn't and instead focus on what is: that I am better for having loved and been loved by him. EMBRACE ANNIVERSARIES . Even if today isn't your anniversary, take a moment to remember what you love about your special someone--be it your spouse, partner, ex, or friend.