And I wondered why I have trip anxiety. When I was 11 years old and my younger brother was 9, my parents purchased a new Oldsmobile, and in the heat of summertime, we set off from New York to California. Given my three other siblings were much older than me, they were spared the ordeal of being trapped in a car for five days with my mom and dad. The purpose of the trip was supposedly to see my sister Jane in San Francisco. My father had a quick temper and my mother was terrified of everything. And where they […]

    Funk’s little red Corolla—an April Fool’s Day story. In 1978, when Funk and I moved from West Virginia to Nashville, we traded-in his truck for a two-door Toyota Corolla. We were a one-car household until our second born came along in 1989, at which time we purchased a van for me and the kids (eww!) and the ’78 Corolla became Funk’s car. He folded his 6’8” frame into that Toyota for 19 years, constantly covering holes in the floorboard with flattened coffee cans in its later years. When the holes grew so large that it posed a safety […]

At the moment of commitment, the Universe conspires to assist you. Part two.* On December 16, 2019, I watched my mother take her last breath on earth. Despite the sorrow, it was an honor to midwife her over to the other side. I learned something surprising that day. In the same way that you bond with the people who witness a soul coming into the world, is the same way you bond with those who are with you when you watch one go out. So it was when I witnessed my mother’s death with my younger brother. The instant my […]

The latest edition of See Beyond Magazine & Talks is on the stands! It’s one of a few magazines that I love, especially given a physical copy can be read in hand. Imagine that?! Still, there is also a FREE online version. This month, I love the article titled, Heartbreak, by Margaret Cunningham. Especially where she states how she’s working on remembering her father the way her son will remember him. That’s important, because as we age, hopefully, so do we grow. When we were little, the person we saw in our parents is not the same person our children […]

The mass shooting that recently took place in Kansas City on the day the city was celebrating the Chief’s winning the Super Bowl was a tragedy. It’s a tragedy, first and foremost, for Lisa Lopez-Galvan, who lost her life for no good reason, and it’s a tragedy for all those who love her. It’s a tragedy for the other victims who were harmed in the gunfire. However, it’s also a tragedy for the citizens of Kansas City who are traumatized by this senseless act. And with the number of mass shootings taking place in our country, it’s a tragedy for […]

At the moment of commitment, the entire Universe conspires to assist you. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said that, and his observation has been true for me. Any time I commit to something, it seems like the wheels of the Universe secretly turn to help make it happen. In 1991, when my son was two years old, he developed an illness that plagued him round-the-clock. I did everything the doctors told me to do, but he got worse, not better. When he was five, as I was cooking, I looked down at the floor where he was playing, and I hardly […]

Just a quickie. (No, not that kind!) I have Covid. For the 2nd time! WTH?! But that’s not the main “thrust” of this post. That’s just the Universe doing what it does. It always has to provide the yin and the yang, and what kind of stupid system is that? The more important thing is, the visit with my Italian exchange daughter and her husband Marco was beautiful. Our home was once again full of life and laughter and talking into the evening. Funk and Marco hit it off great. We don’t own a TV, so they went to a […]

So much love. In 1988, since I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, we moved to Kansas City because Funk was offered a job there that covered my lost wages. We’d changed locations many times, but this was a difficult move. Missouri is in the middle of the country and the people were so different than the people in my hometown on Long Island. Growing up in my neighborhood was like living around the globe. There were families from different cultures and religions settled in every other house on my block. The neighbors were always popping in to give us […]

Even the Apple Health App has an attitude now?! I’ve been working hard for more than a year to get my walking back up to my normal 4 miles daily, a practice I had held since 2009. Early in 2023, I was so depleted that I was barely able to go a mile, and the Apple App let me know it. But it was true, so I accepted it. However, for the past 6 months, I’ve been able to increase my mileage to 3+ miles a day. No one was more surprised that I was capable of that than me. […]

Everybody hates me on April Fool’s Day. To me, there is nothing more delightful than laughing, which is why I love practical jokes. Pulling them on others. It’s a one-way street. No one is allowed to pull them on me. I’ll have to give you the backstory before I tell you about the first prank I ever played on my husband Funk. The children I brought forth from my womb almost 40 years ago now were extremely demanding, and they wanted my attention not Funk’s. I was a mostly stay-at-home mom, and when they were infants especially, I remember feeling […]