A sea of mortarboard caps . . . seniors with tear-soaked tissues . . . parents dabbing at moist eyes.  Pomp.  Circumstance.  Ah . . . graduation.

When I graduated from high school, I was overcome by the end of life as I knew it.  It was not only the end of school but also the end of my residence in Texas and the end of living with my parents.  When I graduated from college, I was likewise cognizant of the ‘death’ of everything familiar. (more…)

She walked to the front of the room and slid a daisy into the vase.  Speaking softly, almost as if to the flower, she murmured, “For my dear mother who passed away two months ago.”  I was on the second row, about to sing with a small group at this hospice memorial service.  The poignant flower ritual was designed to honor and remember the deceased. (more…)

Just a few years ago, mother’s day for me meant breakfast in bed, big sloppy kisses, and hand-made cards proclaiming “I love you mommy.”  Now, with a house full of teenagers, I might get a meal with them and maybe, if I’m lucky, a mumbled “happy mother’s day.” (more…)

I’m still trying to sell a house.  The process, for me, continues to be a mixture of action and letting go.  Even as I’ve resorted to burying a St. Joseph statue (allegedly good luck for house sales) and airing the rooms with a sage smudge (allegedly to clear out old energy), I know that I have to surrender to forces beyond my control. (more…)

I was sitting at my desk on a Monday morning, calmly reviewing my inbox of emails, when I heard a yell and a sharp crack outside.  I raised my eyes to look out the window in time to see a huge pine tree – we’re talking at least 70 feet tall – fall from my neighbor’s property through the air and, landing with a thud, sprawl its green branches across the street. (more…)