The Joy is in the Creating
They’re the people I share this journey through life with; they’re my tribe. We laugh together, we cry together, and above all we cherish the love and friendship that bonds us.
Poetry intrigues me, yet it’s a literary genre I rarely seek. It seems the times in my life when I’ve most appreciated the art form have been when it has found me. That was the case one April day five years ago when I wandered into a local bookstore, sadly no longer in business, and stumbled upon Poem In Your Pocket Day for the first time.
A woman greeted me with a smile and a question. “Do you have a poem in your pocket?” Continue reading “What’s in Your Pocket . . . a Poem by Chance?”
And drink the wine, and the margaritas, and even the champagne! Especially the champagne! Last weekend I decided my newly adopted healthy lifestyle was going to have to stand down; it was after all my birthday. And I had the good fortune to be spending it with friends I’d known . . . well, forever. I wasn’t just hurdling past another annual milestone, I was doing it with some of the best friends a girl could ever have. And that’s a reason to celebrate! Continue reading “Life Is Short . . . Eat The Cake”
I did not invite Down syndrome into my life; it crashed my party. In that devastating moment when my hopes and dreams for my newborn daughter were ripped away, I couldn’t imagine anything could be worse. Fast forward thirty years, and hindsight, as it often does, has replaced the pain and fear I felt in those early days after Stephanie was born with appreciation for an amazing journey that with all its challenges and flaws has made us a stronger family and me a better person.
Today is World Down Syndrome Day and I suspect the average person woke up this morning not knowing that; I certainly had no idea. Continue reading “World Down Syndrome Day: My Thirty Year Perspective”
We’ve all been there, you plan a family beach vacation for spring break and ten days out you start compulsively checking the weather app on your phone because you know how iffy March can be for Carolina beaches. You watch with frustration as the forecast deteriorates each day from a pleasant 75° and sunny to a dreary 42° and rainy the night before you leave; at which point you frantically repack the suitcases removing all the shorts and t-shirts to make room for sweaters and long-pants. Continue reading “The Hometown Where I’ve Never Lived”
Balancing a household budget and ultimately making ends meet for a growing family has never been easy. Add in the expectations to save for a house, college for the kids and that distant notion of retirement and I’m sure it seems impossible. Some of my favorite people happen to be millennials that are challenged with this classic problem right now, and I can assure them this dilemma is not unique to their generation.
But there’s no arguing millennials were the group hardest hit by the Great Recession. These college grads saw the number of entry level jobs shrink, depressed starting salaries and the highest levels of student loan debt in history. It shouldn’t be so surprising that millennials have flocked home in record numbers to seek refuge with mom and dad, often delaying many of the traditional rites of passage into adulthood: career, marriage, children, homeownership. Continue reading “Dear Millennials: Good News! History is on Your Side”