I didn't really know what to expect when we first touched down in Haiti, but the blue sky, blooming red flowers, and mountains in the distance had me immediately thinking, "Haiti is beautiful ( Read more... )

Wrote this back in August of 2008, when I was taking lessons with Don and falling madly in love with him when he was sadly unavailable...

So, no, looks like I have not found my future husband, but at least I have met someone who is a blessing to me. And at least I am learning to be honest with myself and others. I've realized that I'm not one to ( Read more... )

I was humiliated in my Learning and Development class last week. We had to read some bullshit article about "Diminishing Whiteness" in America and people's apparent grievance with a racial identity crisis. "White people don't know what to do with themselves because they have no culture of their own."  The author pulled it together and ended on a ( Read more... )

I sometimes feel compulsions to write; usually when I have some kind of "aha" moment that somehow finds me in the shower, or while driving on auto-pilot down some frequently traveled road. The most recent one was a realization of the kind of thing that pulls at my heartstrings the most. I think most people agree on a lot of these "things." Most ( Read more... )

Some notes or an outline of sorts. There are moments I know I MUST write about. There are existing entries that will make fine little chapters of my memoir as well. They will be found and tweaked. I still have some random lines floating around in my head. "When the sun casts gold on everything it touches...."

Moments that remain vivid even today, ( Read more... )

"Do you meet the criteria for a long and happy marriage?"

This was a teaser for an upcoming report on the 5 o'clock news. I almost had this urge to watch it, like I wanted to immediately turn indian-style and get a paper and pencil ready.  Ooooh, boy! They will tell me what I can do to be a good wife! They will tell me if I have what it takes!! 
( Read more... )

"You have some hope now. You can hold onto that," I whispered  to the 17-year-old girl.

In a few weeks, she'll be looking for a new home after her cousin is evicted from their current third-ward, center-city home. She can't go home to her mother, because  her sister once came after her with a knife. She can't go home to her father, because he ( Read more... )

Two weeks ago I got rid of some things that Jason had given to me. Cards, valentine's day candy boxes, a stuffed animal from an amusement park, and the hardest one to handle--a stuffed dog from Build-a-Bear that had a voice message recorded in it. It played when you squeezed his paw. I thought it would be really painful hearing his voice again. ( Read more... )

I think I would be perfectly happy eloping, but I doubt that's what I'm going to let myself do when it comes time to marry. I have decided, though, that I'm going to have a very small wedding. A huge wedding would not be for me. I don't like being around that many people. I don't really like that many people. I love intimate settings. So that's ( Read more... )

What is it about this year and the grieving issues for me? They are worse than last year. I had a mini-breakdown in church last night. During rehearsal, I was up there singing with the group, "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord..." and I just started crying. Something about the music moved me, and it was a beautiful feeling, but it also made me very ( Read more... )