I’m a preacher’s daughter. A PK. I was raised in a fishbowl with guidelines on how to behave, including a sense of right and wrong. I was not allowed to swear; I was not even allowed to say gee, gosh, or heck as they were presented as shortened versions of Jesus, God, and heaven. I …
Category: faith
A little bit of kindness can go a long way…
I’ve had it with mudslinging, most of it untrue, and thought it would stop after the election, but it hasn't, so I want to write about being kind. I got the idea this morning when I was sitting in a coffee shop and overheard a conversation. A gal was interviewing for a job that could …
Continue reading A little bit of kindness can go a long way…
A Thanksgiving Day prayer in a riven land | National Catholic Reporter
A prayer to consider on this Thanksgiving Day in the United States. I admire writer Sr Joan Chittister's courage and candor. She gave me much to contemplate. From Where I Stand: We must be thankful for memory -- the memory of the values and ideals this country has bred into us since its inception. (Click …
Continue reading A Thanksgiving Day prayer in a riven land | National Catholic Reporter
The Move (9) — Musings at a Month
A month ago yesterday, I arrived in Sioux Falls; Marv had come three days before. We are mostly unpacked, and for those of you who are following the story of our move from Chicago, we've found Box 61. Or, I should say, Marv has found Box 61. In the pantry. How it got there, I'll …
Growing Older: Moving to Grandchildren
Yes, you read that right. After eleven years of high-rise living in Chicago’s Loop, my husband and I are moving to a ground-level ranch in Sioux Falls, SD, in an area with lots of grass and evergreens near our little grandchildren. We’ve just told our family and friends. Responses have at first been shock, then …
Growing Older: On Turning 74
For weeks I've been thinking about how I want to spend the rest of my life. I retired 15 years ago and have done everything I wanted to do from attending concerts and plays, volunteering at church, writing a book, and taking a few dozen writing and humanities courses. My thinking about the future started …
Growing Older: Everything is Different Now
“Everything is different now,” a friend said last week. At 80, she questioned why she’d had a $400 increase in her car insurance. She wondered if it was worth it yet to invest in granite counter-tops for her kitchen. And she reminded me to be thankful for my husband, that her evenings are still the …
He is risen!
U"Tell the disciples that he will meet you in Galilee," the angel said.... In Galilee, at work, in our home, in the familiar places where we break bread and drink from the cup and share the friendship of one another. The risen Lord will meet us in Galilee, on our way, in the midst of …
Nurse Turned Blogger Celebrates Five Years
Dear Readers, Last Saturday, WordPress informed me that I started this blog five years ago. After resisting for a few years while writing my nursing career memoir, Caring Lessons, and being told by writing teachers that I must start a blog, I stopped Helen Gallagher (teacher and blogger extraordinaire) after she gave a presentation at …
Write Along with Me 