As I was walking early one recent morning, a group of 20 or so cyclists passed me going in the opposite direction.  I was looking at them, busy counting how many they numbered, when one cyclist in the middle of the pack waved to me and yelled out “Good Morning!” (Darn! His greeting surprised me and … Continue reading “Distancing”

My 92 year-old mother goes to my sister’s for dinner most nights but otherwise she’s been spending her days alone in her own home.  Of course, she receives daily calls from my brother and me as well as frequent calls from several of her grandchildren.  Despite bouts with sciatica pain, and various other woes that her elderly … Continue reading My Pandemic Hero

After starting on wall paper removal and completing my first Spanish lesson, I look over my list of things I can do during this period of isolation.  I chuckle because it resembles a “to-do” list.  It’s entirely focused on doing-doing-doing.  That’s when I realize that I’ve done it again. I’ve neglected that which is so easily set aside; … Continue reading Forced Pause – Part 2

“There’s no sense of normalcy!” my friend complains to me over the phone. None of us wants to host this little coronavirus bugger so we’re voluntarily (for the most part) staying home. Our routines and lives have been upended.  We all find ourselves in the same boat.   Right from the start, I suspect our confinement could … Continue reading Forced Pause

“Your eyesight has improved… but don’t get used to it.”   My eye doctor tells me that I am developing cataracts and in its beginning stages, a cataract can act as a stronger lens.  So, temporarily my vision has improved.  I think this qualifies as backhanded good news. He tells me not to worry, that cataract surgery for … Continue reading Time and Purpose

A perfectly square, glass container sits empty on the dining table.  It begs to be filled with something... a candle or flowers maybe?  Even though I know bougainvillea don’t qualify as flowers or blooms, I decide an arrangement of these would be an improvement. How fortunate that they are plentiful right outside my door! Clippers in hand, I walk … Continue reading Imperfectly Perfect

I dispatch this from under the covers of my own bed.  Fever and chills broke, I’m now left with a runny nose and a hacking cough.  Having slept in five different beds (all very comfortable!) in a little over three weeks, I can tell you that especially when you’re sick, there is no place like home! The familiar, my surroundings, … Continue reading There’s No Place Like Home

Looking at my Christmas tree in all its splendor, holiday instrumentals playing softly in the background, while sipping from my first morning cup…fills me with serenity and contentment.  In this moment, all is right with my world.  I will admit that if I zoom out and let everything that’s going on in my life come into focus, … Continue reading A Fairy Merry Christmas

I find myself getting frustrated after circling the full parking lot for the third time.  Finally, I spot a place a few spaces over.  As I approach, I discover the reason it's available.  The car in the adjacent space is parked in a haphazard fashion, rendering the neighboring  one unusable.  Cars rounding the corner from … Continue reading Pet Peeve

I groan at the thought of the job ahead of me as I watch my husband pull down boxes from the attic above the garage.  We decided that this was the summer to go through everything.  Is there any other task so daunting than paring down thirty years of accumulation?!? I tell myself that it … Continue reading Sift, Sort, Pitch