The Phoenix is the stuff of dreams. Crimson and gold feathers that glint in the night, a five hundred year life span that ends with fiery immolation, a death that ushers forth new life… This is how I’d track down a Phoenix of my own. First, an airplane ticket to Egypt! Phoenix tales proliferate here and historic (See Ovid and Herodotus) accounts claim this country receives…
This week, I’ve been noticing a significant increase in my levels of joy and contentment. I sang Take it Easy by the Eagles to my husband this morning to wake him up while Spotify played a karaoke track for me in the background. Things are looking up! A few things that struck me this week: 1. Helping a friend, when it’s something I love to do…
As I left my house a few mornings ago, I noticed one trailing vine of clematis, fallen across my path. The other blossoms on my plant had long since withered, but this vine bore thick, velvety, flowers – late arrival beauties. My garden is teaching me about life. I can only water it in early morning or late evening, away from the busy hum of the…
I don’t consider myself a particularly “material girl,” and though I love beauty, fashion, and color, I’m more of a saver than a spender. But all that melted when I saw The Dress. Waves of silky garnet, the swish and sweep of fabric designed for a dancer… It cost as much as ten regular dresses. It was a queen’s gown, a victor’s laurel wreath. I vowed…
Today I introduce you to my good friend Will. We originally met through a shared love of swing dancing. Later, after I graduated college and he went on to grad school in journalism, we collided at a mutual friend's writing group. Will’s sense of humor and devotion to uplifting, encouraging, and supporting his friends makes him a magnetic leader. He constantly strives to make everyone laugh…
How many times have you found a song that’s so mesmerizing, it actually transports you somewhere else while you’re listening to it? Songs have always haunted me, especially the lyrics. Whether it’s the opening melody to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as I zoom through the forest toward the castle, or the heartbreaking soundtrack from Once, my brain slips into another realm where inspiration encircles me,…
Some of the most spectacular moments are the ones when something I’ve always seen one way changes, and I see it in a new light. One of the toughest cookies I know is a gal who trains at a CrossFit gym. One day my heart melted when I realized she wasn’t just trying to outdo men with her badass exercise routine. I saw a shield she’d…
Last week, I sat in a circle of six women who’d gathered on a blanket under twin pine trees under a summer sky to save a friendship. If you’ve lived past the age of seven, you know how a friendship can go awry from an angry word, a lazy forgetfulness, a lie, etc. What the world needs more of is love, and especially the brave love…
Remember in Beauty and the Beast when the heroine sees her father is ill and rushes to his side? She sees it in a magic mirror. The same mirror draws her back to the Beast in his castle. In fairy tales, the magic mirror shows things from a far part of the world or sometimes from the soul (think Snow White). When I look over my…
Today I have the great pleasure to introduce Matthew R Merrick. I met Matthew on Twitter through a mutual friend and was quickly delighted by his humor and energy. We struck up conversations ranging from the ugliness of grammar Nazis to the best father/daughter dates. His two little girls are very lucky to have a good dad. Matthew is a writer full of life and passion…