because words are powerful
In 2016, I devoted a month of writing to the healing practice of walking in the months after my divorce. The Latin phrase, Solvitur Ambulando, “it is solved by walking”, came back to me recently. I joined my employer-sponsored walking challenge, Walktober. I even elected to join the team made up of colleagues in my…
Devastation is not a long enough word to contain my emotional state when my boyfriend and I broke up a few weeks into my sophomore year in college. I hadn’t seen it coming, and it really blindsided me. I moved through fall semester with such an ache in my chest. I didn’t have enough life…
I have entered a new and unexpected season on the celeryforone journey. Two weeks ago, as I worked from my sofa, I received an unexpected and devastating call from my 18-year-old daughter. When her dad did not report to work as usual, she drove home to check on him. When she entered his bedroom, she…
Around 20:30 London time on New Year’s Eve, I broke my silence. I let Hans in on a year-long secret. I needed him to know why I’d be interrupting our TV watching in the last few hours of the year to write a letter. I explained that for the past 364 days, I’d written one…
In the spring of 2016, the spin cycle on my then 15-year-old washing machine stopped spinning. Id lift the lid to pull out laundry and move it to the dryer and it would still be soaked. Id turn the dial to spin, and it would complete its work. I called in a Sears repairman. This…
Today is the last day of this writing project of delightsat least this iteration of it. What a day to end onEaster Sunday! There were lots of moments that contended for the days title: Easter breakfast conversation with fellow congregants, Blooming the Cross where the congregation, person-by-person, slips the stems of various flowers into the…
This Saturday, I had a welcome stretch of unscheduled time between two Zoom calls, and so the sunshine drew me outdoors. Before the first zoom call, Id made a donut run for the Easter breakfast at church tomorrow, and I made a visit to Home Depot to find a tool that could help me address…
Today I decided to swing by Target on my drive home from work to pick up Easter basket goodies for my junior in high school. I dont shop often, so when I do, I get a zing of delightespecially when the recipient is my darling girl. She doesnt have a sweet tooth (like her mama),…
As I was waiting for my oatmeal to cook on the stove, I opened the refrigerator to pull out the orange juice. Standing next to the OJ was a bottle of cranberry juice. I grabbed it too. I poured the nectar into a green glass about three-quarters full and then added cranberry juice to top…
I sat at todays workstationalso known as my bedand answered the scheduled FaceTime call. There smiling back at me was my mentor of ten years, Lori. We sat together at a luncheon during a donor relations conference in Providence, Rhode Island, ten years ago. I have benefited from her friendship and wisdom ever since. We…
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