Spark

The smallest spark can ignite a fire,for good or ill,To warm friends around a campfire on a chilly nightTo candle-cozy a room and illuminate a page of readingTo create a fireline for safetyOr burn down buildings. The smallest spark of electricity canPower a light bulb or an engineAnd heat or cool your food or home.Lightning … Continue reading Spark

Love is the Remedy

Five Minute Friday prompt: REMEDY Today I am two weeks post-second COVID vaccination. Which means I should be about as safe as I can be. The vaccine is a specific remedy to a world-wide problem that has shifted our lives more than we currently recognize. I don’t need to rehash the overwhelm of this past … Continue reading Love is the Remedy

What the World Needs Now

On Monday before the mandatory shelter-in-place began, I had to run a few errands that included picking up a prescription at the pharmacy. Surprisingly, the line was short, with two people already being helped at the counter and one person ahead of me. She was covered head to foot: a colorful rag-style hat on her … Continue reading What the World Needs Now

Exact

The one-word writing prompt—exact—reminds me that I am not one for exact-ness. Numbers require precision, and I am a Word Girl who prefers not to deal with numbers. Even when I’m looking for just the right word(s), I could be convinced of any number of synonyms that would carry the meaning and lend a nuance. … Continue reading Exact

Give Good Gifts

My nephew came to visit and brought me a gift from my sister. She thought I needed some encouragement, so she put together the best care package ever. Gifts are her love language, not mine. Time and good company are really all I need to feel loved. But this gift…! She packed a small box … Continue reading Give Good Gifts

Boomerang

For Mother's Day, I received two bouquets of flowers: one from my in-laws and another from my kids. I posted pictures on social media because I have a thing for flowers. The next day, my neighbor and her young daughter stood on my doorstep holding a beautiful bouquet of homegrown roses. Mom had shown my … Continue reading Boomerang

Ted Tuesday – Love Letters

Because the world feels upside-down and my heart breaks in so many ways for so many reasons, I asked myself: What do you need today? Love, I tell myself. I need love. When people are shot in their place of worship; when the politicians smear muck on each other and the dirty splash hits the … Continue reading Ted Tuesday – Love Letters

“I Like You As You Are”

[I don't often post 2x/day but I'm making an exception... GO see this movie!] Last night in the car I heard the words to the new Florence + The Machine song, Hunger: At seventeen, I started to starve myself I thought that love was a kind of emptiness And at least I understood then the … Continue reading “I Like You As You Are”

Say the Words

Twice this week I’ve found myself in conversation with people who have recently and unexpectedly lost a parent, a woman whose father died and a man whose mother died, both from a stroke. Last night as I listened to my friend describe the events surrounding his mother’s last days, he said, “Tell the people you … Continue reading Say the Words

What’s the News?

A couple years ago, I decided I needed to curtail my practice of ending each day with the first fifteen minutes of the 10 pm newscast. For most of my adult life, I watched the news before bed. But gradually I realized that I wasn’t sleeping soundly, that images or issues from the news wound … Continue reading What’s the News?