I don’t know that I was born a warrior. Maybe I was, but I was so full of fear in my early years, that I don’t know that it was immediately evident. Perhaps it was hiding…..in my endless hope and refusal to give up…..or in my willingness to befriend and go to bat for theContinue reading “Quite special, indeed…”
Category Archives: Loss and Letting Go
Getting my “act” together…
Lately, I’ve been starting to “get my act together,” for whatever that means. The day job (which is seasonal and lasts just four months) has gotten me in a nice routine, as has my attempt to fully appreciate every moment I have when not in the office. I shower before bed, get to sleep atContinue reading “Getting my “act” together…”
Only love has value here…
For months now, I’ve been sitting on some thoughts about which path to take moving forward. I haven’t been stagnant, exactly. I’ve just been taking in “data” as needed in the understanding that it will eventually lead me to some sort of conclusion about the matter. Such is my way. I’m an observer, first…..of externalContinue reading “Only love has value here…”
Not the writer here…
After a few months hiatus, I feel like sharing some of what I’ve been going through in my little world. For starters, I visited a friend in North Carolina the month of November, which did not end well…..and finally led to me completely cutting ties with her after returning to Illinois. I believe the badContinue reading “Not the writer here…”
You may think…
You may think I’m the same as all of the others….. But I’m not…..because you’re not, and I recognized you in a moment. And although I was initially reluctant, I gave in. I surrendered. The first night. The second and third. After months of not knowing what was to come…..when the realization first struck. IContinue reading “You may think…”
A thousand funerals…
At some point during my marital separation in 2008, my (now late) husband accused me of lacking commitment. I didn’t quite see it the same way, considering I felt like I had lived in figurative and literal hell for the better part of 15 years…..but the accusation did make me question whether I could loveContinue reading “A thousand funerals…”
These are the things…
When it comes to a woman who’s given up almost all material luxuries in her own life, you don’t win her over with a shiny new Land Rover, 48-foot sailboat, flights to exotic locations, jewelry, and the like. You win her over with a photo of a small happy house plant soaking up the sunContinue reading “These are the things…”
Messages from the Universe
Heart broken and needing to shut myself off from the world, I walked around Gray’s Lake in Des Moines just before Labor Day 2021. As I passed baby catamarans docked on the shoreline, a man passed me and smiled. “Your hair is beautiful,” he said as he walked by. How strange, I thought. And yet,Continue reading “Messages from the Universe”
On loan from the universe…
As soon as we separate ourselves from others, others separate themselves from us. This was just one of the thoughts or realizations I had one cold day this past January as I house-sat for a friend in Des Moines, Iowa. I had been watching a few videos on minimalism prior to sitting down to write,Continue reading “On loan from the universe…”
A twin story…
When I was just three years old, I broke someone’s heart for the first time….and as I revisit the experience, I wonder what it might tell me about myself, relationships in general, and matters of the heart. But first, the story…. Like many children whose parents have depended on two incomes, I attended pre-school forContinue reading “A twin story…”
Love, hope, and wrong turns…
The tightrope between hope and despair is one many of us have walked a time or two in the search for love….so I thought a few words on the subject might be due. If you’ve ever hoped for something in love one minute, but found yourself wanting to throw in the towel the next, thenContinue reading “Love, hope, and wrong turns…”
The Unexpected Journey of Bath Towels…
The towels were the first thing I had to let go. I realize how peculiar this might sound….that out of all of the things one acquires in life—house, cars, furniture, clothing, dishes, tools, home decor, miscellaneous junk—the bathroom towels were the first among all of the other collected items I would give up. And yet,Continue reading “The Unexpected Journey of Bath Towels…”
The Season for New Life…
This is the season for new life. It does not come about without death, loss, and letting go….and embracing change and what’s to come. The gardener does not fret over last year’s bounty or famine, but sows the seeds for new growth and welcomes each leaf as it unfolds.
Lessons Learned: The 12 Most Significant Growth-Inducing Realizations of my Life (in the last 12 years)…
Like most people, I’ve learned many valuable lessons over the course of my life…..assimilating them into my world view until the memory of when and how I learned them was lost and it seemed there was never a time before when I hadn’t known their truths. But that’s not yet the case with the lessonsContinue reading “Lessons Learned: The 12 Most Significant Growth-Inducing Realizations of my Life (in the last 12 years)…”
Not really your friends…
About a year before we married, my late husband traveled to Japan, where he taught English for about six months. At the time he left, in the spring of 1991, we had been dating for over two years. Sitting across from each other in a booth at a local restaurant the day before his flight,Continue reading “Not really your friends…”
Jeanie Unbottled 