Category Archives: Reflections

When your trust is unapologetically broken, forgive yourself

When someone breaks our trust we sometimes feel a sense of lack for having trusted, for having allowed ourselves to be cheated. It’s an element that is often overlooked, though it may have a deep effect. After the sailing disaster of … Continue reading

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Fingerprints on the land

Ralph Waldo Emerson was right in his assertion that success includes, “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch…” Last year as I winnowed my belongings when I downsized to “two bags and … Continue reading

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Heart like a feather

When my kids were little, I took them to visit a special museum exhibition on ancient Egypt. We learned was that Egyptians believed that only those, who have a heart that weighs no more than a feather, can enter heaven. That means this is … Continue reading

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The first Thanksgiving, seven years later

Seven years ago, my daughters and I enjoyed our first Thanksgiving in our new home. Through the day, the kids listened to WETA’s “Classical Countdown” of listeners’ top 90 favorite symphonies. As the numbers went down, they became animated, waiting … Continue reading

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A new kind of October

I love the light and colors of October. Today I rode my bike slowly, savoring the amazing colors and textures. This almost made me like fall better than spring. Amazingly, somehow, this October has not brought me sorrow. In the past two decades, … Continue reading

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The key to happiness

Seven years ago this week, I moved into My Palace of Peace, with the help of many people, including my dear friend, Eileen. She also rallied her four children to assist, and even the littlest one was helpful and hard … Continue reading

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To feel rich and young

When my children were young, I was pen pals with a Russian mother whose daughter was just a little older than my firstborn. I would send to Lena things that she could not obtain in the motherland, especially anything that … Continue reading

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The two kinds of luck

Luck may appear to be something that just happens to us, but we can often make our own luck when it depends on opportunities seen or made and taken. For instance, I feel very lucky to have wonderful friends, but … Continue reading

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Turn off the “Dagnabit!”

The balloon ride was not to be. My daughter, Laurel, and I and rose at 4 a.m., and left the house at 4:30. I drove two hours before one of my tires suddenly went flat on the highway. Dagnabit! In moving … Continue reading

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Gift from a broken cellist

Listening to a recording of Janos Starker playing Suite No 1, Prelude of Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello, I remember the time I heard this music played live. The elderly gentleman had chipped a bone in his right elbow a … Continue reading

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