I Don’t Do Dreams | Part 2 of 2
This blog is about connecting the dots in my life. Part 1 reminds me of something I share with thousands of young children. Here’s my attempt to show and tell what I mean. Read the rest of this entry »
Telling the Truth
connecting the dots of my life
Tag: Parents
October 6, 2014
I Don’t Do Dreams | Part 1 of 2
Fall in the 1990s. I’m in my 50s. A friend gives me a covered tea-cup. It’s lovely. When I get home I read the inscription on the cup and begin weeping. This isn’t about me. It’s about someone else. I can’t even imagine my way into this approach to life. Read the rest of this entry »
September 29, 2014
weather-beaten house
weather-beaten house
empty nests brilliant blue sky–
what songs lined your walls?
* * *
Music was huge in our home: piano practice, singing grace before each meal, old phonograph records played over and over. Mother taught us to sing in three-part harmony while she accompanied us on the piano or a small portable electric organ. She also played and taught us children’s songs from the old Childcraft songbook for kids, and silly kindergarten songs with all the motions.
Three memories come to mind when I think about music that lined the walls of my childhood homes. Read the rest of this entry »
September 22, 2014
Prodigal Parents
Every now and then something simple changes everything. Not reality itself, but the way I view it. Usually it’s already sitting right in front of me, waiting for me to get it. Read the rest of this entry »
July 25, 2014
How can I say thanks? | Dear Diane, . . .
Diane, Sister #3, died in February 2006 after living 10 years with ALS. From October 1997 until September 2000 Diane wrote short pieces she called Words for the Ones I Love. Most are about her relationship to the local church she served for 7 years as Minister of Education/Administration. She took disability retirement in May 1996.
The pieces are not confidential. Diane gave me permission to use or publish them as I saw fit. In fact, she liked the idea that her words might be read by more than her family and friends. I’m excited to begin letting you see a bit more about her and the ways our lives connected. Perhaps she’ll connect with you, too. Read the rest of this entry »
July 9, 2014
frozen in memory
frozen in memory
erupting without warning
dear earth gasps for air
* * * * *
haunting
sounds of
choking
escalate
no words
no breath
no time Read the rest of this entry »
July 7, 2014
Starving for Sisterly Conversation | Part 2 of 3
The last line of the dream names my hunger: “She seems lonely for someone to talk with about real life.” Other parts of the dream identify behaviors I might want to leave behind, and a few unexpected personal capacities and resources. This post focuses on my hunger, and describes how things begin falling apart. Read the rest of this entry »
April 24, 2014
aging southern belle
aging southern belle
matriarch of the river
beckons me homeward
* * * * *
Summer 2009
the day of my father’s memorial service
three cars full of family members drive out to the old house
at the end of the road Read the rest of this entry »
April 7, 2014
Survival Rules for Good Girls | Part 1 of 2
By the time I’m 7 or 8 years old, I have a daunting list of survival rules. Later they backfire in every part of my life. In the meantime, they have the virtue of seeming to get me through. Here they are, Read the rest of this entry »
February 17, 2014
Where is my Mother? | Part 2 of 3
Sister #3
It’s 1949. I’m 6 years old. Sister #3 is 6 months old and still nursing. She’s sitting on my parents’ bed with Father and me. He’s playing with her—a little game of reach and grab. He asks me to watch and see whether she’s moving her left arm. No, she is not. Read the rest of this entry »
Telling the Truth 