a prophetic voice-

I am not good at being sick…or perhaps I should more accurately say, at admitting weakness in my body. There has always been a kind of shame (as bizarre as that sounds) connected with lack of wellness for me, a sense that I am not living up to what is expected of me. Perhaps it comes from my German background and upbringing, this inability, unwillingness to acknowledge frailty of any kind, but I am gradually, ever-so-gradually coming to acknowledge that this is a very dangerous and self-defeating kind of hubris. Gritting one’s teeth and soldiering on through whatever it is may be fine on a battlefield (though even there it has its limitations, I’m sure), but in everyday life, this philosophy can be not only a failure to acknowledge one’s own limitations but may also be detrimental to one’s health and well-being. All of this being a lengthy preamble to what has been going on with me lately. For the past couple of weeks, I have been noticing that I tire much more ea...

Haven't written in a while...must confess, time has a way of getting away from me far too often. It seems like I turn my head or close my eyes for a moment and a week has passed...or two...or a month. That's kind of been the story of my summer. Seems like it was just June 1st and now it is the 15th of August. But because the hot weather and I just don't see eye-to-eye, and because it has been a  very hot summer in this part of Carolina, I have done a lot of reading...a LOT of reading. I finished all the books in the Tom Thorne series by Mark Bellingham (loved them... he's a British writer and Thorne is a detective. Need I say more?). And I read several great children's books including "My Teacher is A Monster", "Coraline", "The Pout-Pout Fish", and "Little Owl's Night". I also completed the second  book in Greg Iles' Penn Cage trilogy and am eagerly awaiting the third one. Then there was Falling in Love ...

Sometimes, when I put pen to paper, nothing comes. But at other times, I am pleasantly surprised and the words just flow from my heart... like this morning. Eyes wide shut... Sitting on the blue loveseat in my living room listening to classical music coming from the radio in the next room lulled and cooled by the gently-oscillating fan, I am suddenly overcome by weariness, my eyelids growing heavy, as I am drawn toward sleep, my body weighted down with the torpor caused by too many sleep-disturbed nights. I had intended to read a bit and write, to attend and pray, but all my good intentions are coming to naught as I succumb, and my eyes close. change of life... My daughter has been in deep despair, her spirit grieving over her daughter's move to the other side of the country. This separation feels complete to her, a rending of the cord which has linked them fully for these many years. Now the link has shifted to a husband, a partner ...