Family

Three years ago today we were married on the sunniest May day Minnesota had to offer.  Standing on a stone terrace, heady with the fragrance of peony, lilac and bridal veil, we said our vows.  Dylan’s words from our invitation still say it all.
Wedding Song
I love you more than ever, more than time and more [...]

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To our darling Valentines:
Years ago, Erma Bombeck wrote a little ditty to her three children, explaining why she loved each of them (oldest, middle and youngest) best. My mother kept that clipping in her wallet for years. I remember reading it and understanding that, while we kids might have thought there was a [...]

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We are traveling through the blizzard in Ryan’s last parade. Behind the hearse that carries him, we’re protected by escort. We disregard traffic signs and signals. Everyone and everything stops as we pass, slowly and deliberately.
Insulated by the heavy snowfall, the world is monotone. The weather shields us in a quiet cotton [...]

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Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The magazine advertisement caught my eye.  “What are you made of?” it demanded.  The expensive wristwatch in the piece was both strong and precious, wrought of steel and 18 carat gold, with diamonds punctuating its face.  The model, an enigmatic actress, presumably was chosen because she embodied the same traits.
I [...]

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Image via Wikipedia

Be present to the moment, give yourself over to the rhythm and mystery of your own voice, lose yourself in the hum of the words, and you will find that quiet place within. – Kathleen Coskran
This past week found me at a most unexpected and achingly bittersweet task: writing the obituary for the [...]

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“I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.” – Douglas Adams
When I was growing up in small-town Michigan, our family often took a “Sunday drive.”  Many times we ended up out in the country, traveling any number of meandering back roads, taking in the [...]

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I hesitate to tell this tale for fear you’ll think we’re mad.
‘Til now, we’ve shared it with a few who’ve similar visits had.
The story starts two years ago upon an evening’s jaunt.
Three friends went to a book signing, and then began the haunt.
Two psychics wrote the book, you see, and spoke about their visions.
They told [...]

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Autumn is well nigh. The lawn and gardens are strewn with confetti – the leaves are falling.  The Harvest Moon is the first bookend of a month’s worth of shortening days and cooler nights.  Traditionally, farmers work their fields well into the night by the Harvest Moon’s light, then put up their yields.  The [...]

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I have been sifting through yesterdays that don’t seem so long ago.  My first memory of you is when you arrived home – the Green Street house.  I was four.  We had been waiting for what seemed like forever and the excitement was feverish.  You were three days old and Mother presented wrinkly [...]

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