Waking up to a blank slate in 2024, I couldn’t think of a better way to start the year than to connect with my WordPress community. I’ve been tracking many of you with your post notifications, and cheering you on from afar. I have no excuse for not commenting and supporting all the lovely endeavors Read More
Tag: family
In Dying, We are Beautiful
Those that follow my blog know that I love to unearth life lessons from my gardens. Here is my latest observation. I have a few different varieties of agave in my cactus and succulent garden and recently, one took on a drastic change. These plants are special to me, because I collected them from my Read More
Patterns
My half brother from New York is visiting this week. He came to spend time with my parents, his father and step-mom, and the rest of our family. He’s 52 now. Moving in to hug him, I remembered the excitement of his arrivals throughout my childhood years, during summers and holidays; my super-cool, break-dancing, bleach Read More
Weekend Book Review: An Unlasting Home
In an effort to reflect and share the new passions I found once I ditched alcohol, I’m starting a weekend book review, featuring some of my favorite books. This weekly feature will share my insights and recommendations on literary and historical fiction and well as non-fiction quit-lit, memoirs, nature, Christian and self-help. My hope is Read More
Takes Me Back
Nestled in the hills of Northern California, on your way from Sacramento to the Central Coast, lies a small mission town called San Juan Bautista. This quaint locale resembles a village or a Mexican pueblo with the Mission being the focal point. But the center of it all for me, the reason I always have Read More
See You Soon
There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I started to subtract blocks of time. To quantify my reality so I could digest it. To justify why I personally, as a mom of divorce and shared custody, am Read More
Passing storms and silver linings
My firstborn graduated high school yesterday. In an actual ceremony, at their football stadium. The day held all the feels, though more subdued and distanced than usual. Instead of, we came, we saw, we conquered, it felt a bit more like, we persevered, we rode it out, we don’t want to look back. Nonetheless, it Read More
I Don’t Need a Day
Mother’s Day is a few days away, and here’s the status: I have yet to hear from my father or sister regarding plans for my mom (the next day is also her birthday), my two sons will be at an out of town volleyball tournament, and my husband’s siblings have invited him (singular) to lunch Read More
Two Years of Sobriety: It is what it is
I’m glad I didn’t have any expectations around my second soberversary because it looks like it will be a party of one. COVID life is a great teacher of harboring no expectations. And while most people mark March 13 as the day the world shut down, I mark it as another year sober. This day Read More
The Light that is My Son
A few days ago, I traveled to the Bay Area to a small private college tucked away in the affluent town of Atherton. My son, his dad and I had an appointment to meet the men’s volleyball coach and tour the campus. The coach and my son have been exchanging emails since my son sent Read More