WILL THEY FOLLOW ME

Everything passes. Nobody gets anything for keeps. And that’s how we have to live. – Haruki Murakami I have a favorite tea cup, one that melds to my hand, glazed in earth-tone colors making it appealing to the eye. I cherish it. Love to put boiling water and loose Rice Pudding tea in it to…

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REACHING THE CENTER

Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all–in which case, you fail by default. – J.K. Rowling A friend and I walked a labyrinth today. An eleven-circuit labyrinth haloed with lavender, and, even…

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ALWAYS TIME FOR GOOD DISCUSSION

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes. – Maggie Kuhn Oh, my. This quote resonates with me. I call it vibrating but “shakes” works just as well. Life keeps whispering to me, “Stay in the conversation.” I was always quick to leave the conversation, not even attempt to use my voice, and, instead, hightail…

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GRIEF ROSE UP

I could say that it was easy, sitting there with her, watching her die, but it wasn’t. There was nothing easy about it, nor awful for that matter. It was what it was. I was asked the other day how I was doing with her death, and, at the time, I said I was fine….

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NO LONGER THERE TO BE SEEN

I have a beautiful bookshelf, tucked into the wall of our living room, that contains a plethora of books. I have an old rocker next to the bookshelf and a decent lamp that gives adequate light for reading. Sometimes, when people step into our home, they can’t see me sitting there, almost like I’m invisible….

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NO GOING BACK

She wanted to say something, the truth preferably, but all her words stuck in her mouth, hung up on her tongue, forever secured and tethered to going nowhere. She watched them fumble with their own words, trying to console and support without really talking about what was happening. She didn’t want to talk about it…

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MORE POLITICAL THAN I THINK

I’m not a political person per se, though that doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions, or that I don’t read the news and am not informed. I’m just not into discussing my thoughts with everyone I cross paths with. Actually, I really don’t like talking politics with anyone. I value my friendships and connections more…

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CHERISHED GIFT

I hear my oldest son playing piano, a new song he’s learned that he renders with little effort. His fingers grace the piano keys as if he’s played before, but he hasn’t. I’m amazed at his talent and intuitiveness. My other son sleeps, having turned in at 8:30. Turning in early makes sense, since he…

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MENDING FROM THE INSIDE

A man can get discouraged many times but he is not a failure until he begins to blame somebody else and stops trying. – John Burroughs In this life, I’ve had numerous times where discouragement supplanted all thoughts of trudging forward, and I found myself wallowing in the failure of who I thought I was….

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Rummaging for Writers: John Barth

Another writer found, though this one has published multiple times and has won awards. I found his short story in The Threepenny Review and enjoyed it immensely. I remember reading about the fear of being buried alive, because sometimes people were, and both, family and buried-person, would take fright. Sometimes the buried-person wouldn’t make it out…

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NO REGRETS

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important….

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Rummaging for Writers: Wessie du Toit

Searching for other writers is always a joy. The hope of stumbling across someone’s words that can instill in me a feeling other than what I’m feeling is magical. Off chance, I clicked on The Moth Magazine, and was drooling over their retreat, which is in a beautiful location outside of Cavan Town in Ireland….

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