5 Blessings of a Skinned Knee, When You're 48 1/2

In    that        oh     so      slow-motion   moment     between   tripping   and      landing,     SLAP    on the flagstones,  
            I think I was…..airborne.

I don't remember it exactly.

I had an image flash by, of a woman in the distance, bringing her palms to either side of her 'o' shaped mouth. 

 I heard the crack of my iPhone screen, in my hand, as it met the sidewalk of a leafy Manhattan street.

 Landing on my hands and knees, I looked up to see a young couple peering down at me with great concern.

A Typhoon's Deadly Toll: How You Can Go From Feeling Helpless to Helpful In This One Simple Step

Aida, our former housekeeper, was born in the Philippines. Her sisters and brothers are directly affected by the super-typhoon that hit Tacloban.

The deadly storm, Typhoon Haiyan followed hot on the heels of a 7.2 earthquake that hit Bohol on October 15 and has further devastated the towns and villages of Aida's family and friends.

World catastrophes can make us feel very helpless in the face of such enormous devastation and tumult.

Moving from Hurt to Healing: How 1 Step Back Can Take You 2 Steps Forward

The Lily we planted has bloomed!

This morning, like every morning as I went out to the car in my driveway, I glanced at the lily. Aida and I had planted it in memory of her sister, who had died suddenly back at the beginning of May.

During difficult times, it is often hard to picture life any other way. In the heart of a crisis, serious illness, medical emergency, divorce, bereavement or job loss it is difficult to imagine that things will ever be different or better. Looking out into the future is frightening particularly if what you imagine is more of what you are living through or dare I say it, worse. Sometimes things do get worse, before they get better. 

Rarely do they stay the same. 

Why Routine Brings Comfort

We had a particularly challenging week, a few years ago when my husband's parents were staying with us. 

My mother-in-law knocked on our door at 3.00 am because a pipe that had burst from the basement toilet, emitted tens of gallons of water directly into the basement bedroom where my parents-in-law were sleeping. My father-in-law in trying to wade into the bathroom and turn off the water, slipped and hurt his arm and the basement was floating in debris. 

What a Crisis Can Teach Us About Celebrating.

About six years ago I was sitting at a red light muttering to myself.  

No, I did not need to be referred to an asylum. But I had been getting myself very worked up about an upcoming birthday party for my almost 6 year old. (Jacob)

The endless to do list was swirling in my head as I remonstrated with myself  about planning a party for 18 kindergarteners in my house in a particularly snowy December. As I pulled up to those traffic lights, I was stressing about the weather and the games, party gifts, food and home made birthday cake.

And while that nagging voice continued, I suddenly had an epiphany.........

Love In The Time Of Crisis

Most people I know lead crazy busy lives. We rush from carpool to work, to after school activities to after dinner activities and so on, in a blur. We know we love our parents, our spouses and our children and we do many things to show them we care, from dropping their forgotten lunch at school to arranging birthday celebrations.

When life takes a detour into serious illness, love turns you into a caretaker, health decision maker, advocate and nurse.