Category Archives: Life

Plenty of Words

Posted
Filed under Life

There have been plenty of words this week, trailing around, in and out of my head. I will not lie, many of them are frightening. Like when Trump said, “we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military National Guard,” (abc news). And by dangerous, he included Portland, OR, which for anyone who has visited recently seems to be more absurd than just about anything he has said to date. In fact, “Portland has more than 100 miles of neighborhood greenways in every part of the city” and is a cyclist’s paradise filled with safe, beautiful paths and low-speed streets (portland.gov). (Just check out their beautiful airport– I swear you will never leave!) Trump’s lies that get pumped out as echoing sound bites are certainly the work of some legendary marketers, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is indeed a lying felon.

Thankfully, there were other words that spoke to me this week for which I am glad.

woman on the beach

Continue reading →

Little Guy Lessons

Posted
Filed under Life

Despite being born in a coastal state our little grandson found the sound of surf hitting the shore line terrifying. We spend months trying to coax him out of the car to walk across the parking lot and see the sea from afar, all to no avail. But eventually, as luck would have it, he held our hands and braved the roaring din to stand along side of us, feet in the sand, hesitant and uncertain, but there. I too have felt overwhelmed causing much self-doubt and uncertainty, even fear, not emotions I had much need for until we moved away from just about everything that made me me. But watching our little guy finally get up the guts to yell back at the formidable Pacific I thought, he’s on to something here. Time to land in this here and now and let go of fears. Time to yell back too.

grandmother and grandson standing on the beach Continue reading →

Reach Down. Lift Up. Never Forget.

Posted
Filed under Life

I am reblogging a post I wrote years ago because on this historic day my sentiments remain the same and I believe it’s worth a second read. While it is true America is currently governed by a petty and vindictive man, who grants pardons to murderers and sends condolences to acolytes while chasing dissenting voices into silence, who has given power to those who are altering what our forefathers held dear, they do not represent the core of Americans. Our America is peopled with those caring for the young and the elderly, who work tirelessly to make something out of nothing, who allow those around them to live their lives as they wish, and who not only bow their heads for those who are trodden upon but do what they can to aid them. 24 years ago we witnessed the strength of our America, not in those who held political power, but in the citizens who responded on 9/11 with their hearts and lives. We remember the brave and selfless today by living as they did, reaching down and lifting up.

Reach down. Lift up. Never Forget.