Ashes to Ashes
I had almost an entire blog written about time, wounds, scars, and healing. It was touching and poignant if I do say so myself. Then, with the touch of a key, or maybe a few, it disappeared. All my...
View ArticleCatching Up
Recently I reconnected with an old friend. I found an email that was two months old sitting in my inbox due to a technical glitch, but I think I needed to read it that evening rather than two months...
View ArticleGiving Birth
Elephants. They are my favorite animals. Symbols of wisdom. Gentle giants. Oddly graceful swimmers. Ferocious when necessary. And they grieve. A mother elephant is pregnant for about 22 months before...
View ArticleFive-Year Plans
This week has been … Remarkable Startling Incredible Stressful Unexpected When I walked the path with Brian, doing my best to give him the most comfortable transition from life to death, it was scary....
View ArticleClassically Beautiful
The other night, while wrapping fragile objects and taping up cardboard boxes and color-coding labels, I was half-watching – mostly listening to – television. My interest was piqued by a snippet of an...
View ArticleThree
3 years ago today. 1,095 days ago on this morning. May 28, 2012. 12:07 a.m. Life changed forever. Nothing is easier, although I do know how to change car batteries and headlight bulbs. I’m considering...
View ArticleNo Stone Unturned
Don’t you just find yourself a wee bit irritated by people who are happy all the time? Bubbly every minute? Maybe even joyful on purpose? Me, too. On the other hand, aren’t you often annoyed by those...
View ArticleThe One Where I Couldn’t Come Up With a Great Title
This week I have learned (or perhaps I’ve just remembered) that looking to the future is important, but you cannot look at a finish line without also looking at the starting line and the course. In...
View ArticleMessy Masterpieces
I had this great idea back in July to set a goal and run a 50k on December 12. I met the early bird deadline and paid my entry fee. I booked my hotel. I planned my travel route. My running plan was...
View ArticleAre You Okay?
When you spend so much of your time trying to share joy with others, trying to be a source of hope and happiness, you can feel a bit like a fraud in those moments when you whine and gripe, when you...
View ArticleYear Five
Four years ago today an oncologist walked into Brian’s room at HealthPark Medical Center and delivered the news we were, unfortunately, expecting but also fearing. Four years ago Brian and I began that...
View ArticleDear Brian
Dear Brian, If I could talk to you today, I’d wish you a happy 42nd birthday. I’d make you a big pan of apple crisp and a carrot cake – with a double layer of cream cheese frosting, of course. I’d...
View ArticleThe Wurst Grandma
When your last name is Wurst, you have to make the best of it. And my grandma did. She was known for her cinnamon rolls. They were made in the same pan for I don’t know how many years, and when she...
View Article1381
I shared my Two Cents and Some Joy on election day four years ago. At that time I didn’t share my political views or my choice in the election, instead focusing on my choice to remain respectful,...
View ArticleService as Joy
I recently made a career change, and during the interview I was asked what sparked my interest in the position. Without any hesitation, my answer was, “The word ‘support’ is in the title.” I then...
View ArticleGoodbye from the Window Seat
I answered that I always have a speech in my back pocket when my mom asked if I wanted to say anything or read something at my stepdad’s memorial service. It was a half-truth. While always prepared to...
View ArticleZooming in on Joy
Over the last two years I’ve gone from being a fairly avid runner who paid pretty careful attention to what I consumed to, well, the current version of me. Some junky life stuff happened and I “let...
View ArticleStaying on Difficult Trails
Chimney Top Trail, Tennessee Since moving to Tennessee I’ve returned to an old love – hiking. Growing up in Colorado, for me, meant regular trips to the Rockies for picnics, camping, and lots of hiking...
View ArticleWelcome to the Adventures
Join me (Struggle Bus) and my husband, Gene (Thunder Bunny), as we hit the hiking trails to commune with nature, shoot wildlife with cameras, exclaim at the wonder of moss and fungi, and prepare to...
View ArticleMount Mitchell
I was surprised to learn that the highest point east of the Mississippi is in the Black Mountains in the neighboring state of North Carolina. If asked, I would have guessed – for no good or even...
View Article