Happy New Year/Decade

“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” — Robin Sharma When I sent my grandchildren a New Year’s message this morning my oldest grandson came back with his shattering reminder – “it’s a new decade.” What??? Well, c’mon, I have lived through a lot of new decades. But this is […]

Christmas Gratitude

I have great gratitude for my family at Christmas. In addition to the normal blessings of health and love and affection I am so grateful for each and everyone of my grandchildren‘s generosity. A long time ago I began the tradition of offering each grandchild a choice in the decision of what charity will be […]

Christmas means to me…

It’s really no wonder that I have some ambivalent feelings around Christmas. I grew up without a secular tradition. Until I was a teenager, all of my Christmas memories were centered around church services. We sang a lot of hymns about the birth of Jesus but I never heard “Here Comes Santa Claus” except on […]

December Thoughts

I generally don’t live in the past. I fast-forward and visualize the future. Even my precious memories are vague. I hear friends who can relay a moment-by-moment saga of their children’s lives and I feel a bit guilty. sSometimes I wonder if I was ever present in those moments. But I have moments of nostalgia. […]

Serving Gratitude

May the gratitude in my heart Kiss all the universe. ~ Hafiz “No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night.” ~Elie Wiesel   “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything […]

Wait – Think – Live

I wish I could show you…the astonishing light of your own being. Hafiz I am writing to you – my children and grandchildren – but also children and grandchildren everywhere. Life is fragile and ends quickly and often capriciously. Two people we know and love have died by suicide recently. One, a young man in […]

Welcome to My World of Letters

Many of you are looking for a specific letter for ideas to help you write to someone you love. You are welcome to take what you need from this site for your personal use. But here’s the deal. You can do it yourself.  Go to the top of the main blog page or click here […]

Family Secrets

I don’t believe in family secrets.  They cause undue stress, give nasty surprises and keep us from learning lessons that we could all share. Yet it’s difficult to know how deal with when they are brought into the light.  Do they require action?  Are we to be involved?  If there are differences, are we to […]

Bad Day

I found this draft from November, 22, 2017, as I was doing some housekeeping on my blog. I don’t remember writing it, specifically, but it shows me I am not as happy-go-lucky as I often think. * * * In the hospital I woke up one Saturday and was having breakfast in my corner window […]

Letting Go

Who hurt you, once, so far beyond repair that you would meet each overture with curling lip? While we, who knew you well, your friends, (the focus of your scorn) could see your courage in the face of fear, your wit, and thoughtfulness, and will remember you with something close to love. Marylyn Plessner Maybe […]