I’m a sucker for heroes, I always have been. I want to believe there are people who will right wrongs and protect those who can’t protect themselves. I want to believe in people who will fight for what’s right—even if it means putting their lives at stake.
This is Memorial Day weekend. A time to remember and honor people who have served in the military and perhaps even gave their lives for our country.
I wish we didn’t have wars. I wish every weapon on earth could be dismantled. My heart goes out to all whose lives are torn apart by war. And I wish that people could see beyond their own fears to talk and work things out another way. I even know there are flawed individuals who have done horrible deeds while wearing a uniform.
But that does not stop me from honoring those who serve hoping to help, wanting to protect, who may have to face their deepest fears each time they go out on duty, and who sacrifice so much for their country. These are the men and women I remember and salute on Memorial Day.
As I said, I’ve always been a sucker for heroes.
April
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
My Friend is Cured!
Those of you reading my blog for a while now know that I have a friend who was diagnosed with very aggressive breast cancer last fall. Yesterday she was pronounced cured.
Oh, we know. She’ll need to be monitored closely for a while. And “cure” is a tricky word when it comes to cancer. Nonetheless, anyone who has ever battled cancer or had a loved one who did knows what a relief yesterday’s verdict was. And what a relief it is for my friend to be finishing up her treatment—radiation and chemotherapy. By the time I see her late in June she swears she’ll be her old self again—at least in terms of energy.
They say that attitude makes a huge difference with any illness. That’s something I deeply believe. And she’s a fighter. She fought Hepatitis C and won that battle, too. It’s been years since they could find any trace of it in her system. Now she’s won this battle as well.
I think part of it is that she’s got a lot to live for. She has good friends and children she loves and a husband who is loving and supportive. She wants to see what the future holds—for all of them and for herself.
And that’s the key for all of us, I think. To be fully engaged in life, to know how to laugh and find joy and care deeply about others around us. If we do these things then every moment matters and we are most likely to have the resilience we need to cope if something like cancer comes into our lives.
I know that I’ll be celebrating tonight and looking forward to seeing my friend and laughing with her again in a month or so. Thank you everyone who told me here or privately that they were praying for my friend. She has said more than once that she felt the power of all the prayers being said for her by so many wonderful people.
April
Oh, we know. She’ll need to be monitored closely for a while. And “cure” is a tricky word when it comes to cancer. Nonetheless, anyone who has ever battled cancer or had a loved one who did knows what a relief yesterday’s verdict was. And what a relief it is for my friend to be finishing up her treatment—radiation and chemotherapy. By the time I see her late in June she swears she’ll be her old self again—at least in terms of energy.
They say that attitude makes a huge difference with any illness. That’s something I deeply believe. And she’s a fighter. She fought Hepatitis C and won that battle, too. It’s been years since they could find any trace of it in her system. Now she’s won this battle as well.
I think part of it is that she’s got a lot to live for. She has good friends and children she loves and a husband who is loving and supportive. She wants to see what the future holds—for all of them and for herself.
And that’s the key for all of us, I think. To be fully engaged in life, to know how to laugh and find joy and care deeply about others around us. If we do these things then every moment matters and we are most likely to have the resilience we need to cope if something like cancer comes into our lives.
I know that I’ll be celebrating tonight and looking forward to seeing my friend and laughing with her again in a month or so. Thank you everyone who told me here or privately that they were praying for my friend. She has said more than once that she felt the power of all the prayers being said for her by so many wonderful people.
April
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Exercise
I read something interesting yesterday. It was about a study that said it was better for a woman’s health to do housework than to work out at a gym.
Now my first reaction is to ask: What’s the gender AND the agenda of the person(s) doing the study?
I’m also somewhat skeptical. On the other hand, I can sort of see how it might be true. I’ve been making it a point to walk every day for some time now. And I thought I was doing pretty well in terms of keeping in shape. But then I climbed to the top of a hill with my daughter—and got way more winded than I liked. And I decided to start mowing my own lawn this year. (I’d hired a service last year because I didn’t think I could manage the heat.) Well, first time out I thought I’d about die. Took me an hour to mow the front and an hour to mow the back. Now it takes me half an hour for each. I still mow half one day and the other half a different day because otherwise I get too hot but....I can tell the difference and it’s in me not my lawn!
So I can sort of see that all the different actions one does with housework might be really good exercise—if one does enough of it! And that’s the kicker. The study cited 17 hours of housework a week. It does not say that women who went to the gym were spending 17 hours at the gym!
At any rate, it means there is one more option for staying fit.
April
Now my first reaction is to ask: What’s the gender AND the agenda of the person(s) doing the study?
I’m also somewhat skeptical. On the other hand, I can sort of see how it might be true. I’ve been making it a point to walk every day for some time now. And I thought I was doing pretty well in terms of keeping in shape. But then I climbed to the top of a hill with my daughter—and got way more winded than I liked. And I decided to start mowing my own lawn this year. (I’d hired a service last year because I didn’t think I could manage the heat.) Well, first time out I thought I’d about die. Took me an hour to mow the front and an hour to mow the back. Now it takes me half an hour for each. I still mow half one day and the other half a different day because otherwise I get too hot but....I can tell the difference and it’s in me not my lawn!
So I can sort of see that all the different actions one does with housework might be really good exercise—if one does enough of it! And that’s the kicker. The study cited 17 hours of housework a week. It does not say that women who went to the gym were spending 17 hours at the gym!
At any rate, it means there is one more option for staying fit.
April
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Mothers Day
Mothers Day is coming up—with all the attendant commercialism and praising of mothers. For those of us who have lost our mothers and/or whose mothers weren't the world’s best this can be a difficult holiday. It’s difficult also for mothers who have lost children (in any sense of the word).
For writers, the word mother is rich with possibility. We see all the ways mothers impact their children—and vice versa. We understand that without knowing the mother we cannot fully understand the child—and vice versa.
In writing as in life, this connection is one of the most powerful we will ever know. In life as in writing, there is power in learning to honor the good while blessing and releasing what is/was less than perfect—and in knowing that all relationships have the potential to change and grow—even that between mother and child.
April
For writers, the word mother is rich with possibility. We see all the ways mothers impact their children—and vice versa. We understand that without knowing the mother we cannot fully understand the child—and vice versa.
In writing as in life, this connection is one of the most powerful we will ever know. In life as in writing, there is power in learning to honor the good while blessing and releasing what is/was less than perfect—and in knowing that all relationships have the potential to change and grow—even that between mother and child.
April
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
My Haunted Toilet
My Haunted Toilet
Okay, so I’m pretty handy around the house. I can fix a lot of things. I understand how to spot problems and deal with them. But now I’ve got this demon/haunted toilet....
It worked fine. Until it broke in the middle of a writing workshop I was giving at my house. Several days, some new tools and parts and it was fixed. I thought. Until yesterday. I had a friend over. She mentioned that it kept gurgling. (Did I mention this was my guest bathroom?) I kept removing the tank top and fiddling with things trying to spot the problem. Everything LOOKS fine but it isn’t. Suddenly, a tube pops free and starts spraying all over the bathroom AND ME. AND sprayed all over some things my friend had set on the counter top next to the toilet!
I managed to slap the tube back into place, fiddle with it so the toilet stopped running, but my friend and I decided that she would just use mine if she needed to until she left.
I swear the blasted thing is haunted! And I STILL don’t know what’s wrong with it. But I’m going to figure it out—I swear I will. Even if I have to conduct an exorcism over it!
April (warily eyeing the thing and wondering if I should put on a plastic raincoat before I tackle the darned thing again....)
Okay, so I’m pretty handy around the house. I can fix a lot of things. I understand how to spot problems and deal with them. But now I’ve got this demon/haunted toilet....
It worked fine. Until it broke in the middle of a writing workshop I was giving at my house. Several days, some new tools and parts and it was fixed. I thought. Until yesterday. I had a friend over. She mentioned that it kept gurgling. (Did I mention this was my guest bathroom?) I kept removing the tank top and fiddling with things trying to spot the problem. Everything LOOKS fine but it isn’t. Suddenly, a tube pops free and starts spraying all over the bathroom AND ME. AND sprayed all over some things my friend had set on the counter top next to the toilet!
I managed to slap the tube back into place, fiddle with it so the toilet stopped running, but my friend and I decided that she would just use mine if she needed to until she left.
I swear the blasted thing is haunted! And I STILL don’t know what’s wrong with it. But I’m going to figure it out—I swear I will. Even if I have to conduct an exorcism over it!
April (warily eyeing the thing and wondering if I should put on a plastic raincoat before I tackle the darned thing again....)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Lights in the World
As I wrote after 9/11 (on my website), when horror happens, as it did last week at Virginia Tech, I believe that we as individuals and especially as writers can make a difference. We can be lights in the world.
As writers: We can help give voice to the deepest pain. We can help people feel connected. We can provide what may be deeply needed diversion in moments when life might otherwise feel overwhelming.
As writers: We can remind the world that in the midst of tragedy there is also heroism and kindness and love and a desire to help others. We can help to shine a spotlight on the depths of despair some people feel--and why.
Each day we get to choose who we will be—as people and as writers. Each day we get to choose: Do we sleepwalk through our lives or do we really go after the things that matter most to us? Do we reach out to others, do we live our lives with honor and integrity—or do we choose to focus only on ourselves?
May we each choose to add to the love in the world, to see the best in each person we meet and encourage them to live up to that best. May we recognize that we are all far more alike than we are different—no matter what the superficial differences may be. May we each choose to be a light in the world and by doing so help to shape, help to create the kind of world in which we want to live.
April
As writers: We can help give voice to the deepest pain. We can help people feel connected. We can provide what may be deeply needed diversion in moments when life might otherwise feel overwhelming.
As writers: We can remind the world that in the midst of tragedy there is also heroism and kindness and love and a desire to help others. We can help to shine a spotlight on the depths of despair some people feel--and why.
Each day we get to choose who we will be—as people and as writers. Each day we get to choose: Do we sleepwalk through our lives or do we really go after the things that matter most to us? Do we reach out to others, do we live our lives with honor and integrity—or do we choose to focus only on ourselves?
May we each choose to add to the love in the world, to see the best in each person we meet and encourage them to live up to that best. May we recognize that we are all far more alike than we are different—no matter what the superficial differences may be. May we each choose to be a light in the world and by doing so help to shape, help to create the kind of world in which we want to live.
April
Monday, April 16, 2007
History
I love history. I love all the unexpected bits of information. I love discovering the patterns of centuries—how end of and beginning of centuries brings lots of new ideas and change. How the middle of a century people seem more likely to resist change. How even clothing silhouettes (Western world anyway) have a pattern—one based on century cycles (usually narrower around the turn of the century, wider near the middle).
I love coming across tidbits of information. Discovering that Cincinnati in the early 19th century had a law that one had to throw garbage in the middle of the street (not to the sides) so the pigs could come and carry it off—otherwise one could be fined. Or that tea on a riverboat might include hung beef chipped up raw. I love reading about historical figures who defied the conventions of their day and I love reading about those who found a place within those conventions.
I love discovering that ideas we think are new were often written and spoken about centuries ago.
As someone who heard people say, far too often, when I was growing up that women couldn’t do math (I didn’t listen of course!), I love discovering that a woman’s magazine in England in the early 19th century contained math puzzles.
Whenever I read about the past, I can’t help spinning in my mind stories of what it must have been like to live in that time period. Which is, of course, one reason why I’m a writer.
Anyone care to share some of their favorite historical tidbits?
April
I love coming across tidbits of information. Discovering that Cincinnati in the early 19th century had a law that one had to throw garbage in the middle of the street (not to the sides) so the pigs could come and carry it off—otherwise one could be fined. Or that tea on a riverboat might include hung beef chipped up raw. I love reading about historical figures who defied the conventions of their day and I love reading about those who found a place within those conventions.
I love discovering that ideas we think are new were often written and spoken about centuries ago.
As someone who heard people say, far too often, when I was growing up that women couldn’t do math (I didn’t listen of course!), I love discovering that a woman’s magazine in England in the early 19th century contained math puzzles.
Whenever I read about the past, I can’t help spinning in my mind stories of what it must have been like to live in that time period. Which is, of course, one reason why I’m a writer.
Anyone care to share some of their favorite historical tidbits?
April
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