Recovery Part 2 –A Poem In Your Pocket

**This is the second post in a series about living with and recovering from serious illness. The first post Recovery-The New Normal appeared last week.**

Today is Poem in your Pocket day. As it is described on poet.org's website, the idea is simple: "select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends."   

So, I got to thinking about which poem I would choose.

Recovery-The New Normal

This is the first in a series of posts about living with and recovering  from major illness. Many thanks to Jonny and a number of dear friends who agreed to share their thoughts with me about their own journeys through illness in order to help me write these posts. Their bravery ,honesty and poignant accounts moved me deeply and with their permission I am sharing  these insights with you.


When Jonny was first diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia in October 2008, I remember yearning for him and our world to get back to normal.

Food For Thought-The Perfect Job Share

Brownies,truffles,meringues

In the run up to the festival of Pesach (Passover) which is punctuated by an enormous amount of preparation, I had the most wonderful experience cooking in the kitchen with my mother. Given the normal challenges of cooking with a partner, especially when that job share is a close relative such as your  mother, things might not have gone as smoothly as they did. We have cooked together in my kitchen before but this time was particularly special. My mom (Joy), arrived from London on a Tuesday evening, 3 days before Pesach, to spend the eight day holiday with us. With the kitchen clean, the groceries bought, the menus designed and the recipes found, the two of us were ready to begin. 20 recipes in two days –a marathon cookup.  Add in to this cooking mix normal mother-daughter baggage, strong opinions and my mother at 72, having cooked for at least double the number of years I have, the experience might have been bumpy.

Relish The Moment

Relish The Moment-taken at great Falls MD
Jan 2012

A friend of mine sent this essay to me, after reading my previous post    I Wonder If....... Its message is clear and echoes my thoughts - enjoy the journey! Thank you very much Sharon P.
Have a great week-Gilly

I Wonder If The Children of Israel Ever Stopped to Enjoy the View

As we approach Passover, I have been thinking about the story of the Exodus from Egypt, which we are going to retell this weekend at our Passover table. These slaves from Egypt were to spend 40 years journeying in the desert. Their goal was to reach Israel. But for many of them, the trip through the desert would take their whole lives and I wondered if  any of them ever stopped  for a minute to admire the view.