Rooted Hearts

  I wrote this after January 6th. It wasn't written in political expectation, rather as a call for unity. Today, more than 2 years later, our country still remains in a great divide. I want more for my children and grandchildren, but even more than that, I expect greater from us.  Come Stand with Me   Come stand with me on mountain tops steeped in certain grandeur.    Fields draped in Amber hues,   With seas on distant shores.    One with Gates of Gold, a bridge,    The other Liberty.    A country where the bloodshed fed a freedom fought and won. Strangers came with beaconed hope, fraternity as one.    A place to where the stains once were, and proclamations made, our history as United has now begun to fade.    Battles made in hallowed halls, insurrections no more past, fledge down our promise, promises now cast .    Why do colors run in teeming hearts?    No longer blended skew,...

  As my high school begins to celebrate its 60th year, I look back on all that made it so special to me then and now. I can hardly believe Rosary is turning 60! It's amazing to think about all the young women educated within its walls through the years – not just academically, but spiritually. Rosary prepares you not only for life, but service as well.    When I look back on my years spent at 901 N Edgelawn Ave, I was completely unaware of the impact lessons learned were being woven into my adult life ahead. The examples given through action by the faculty were a pattern of lifelong empathy and caring towards others through the eyes of God. Their patience and availability for guidance taught us how to be better people when faced with an often-time cold adult society.    It seemed those wonderful sisters were able to see beyond our teenage façade and speak to the person within. I was recently speaking with one of my high school friends about our time at Rosar...

  Often times when we are caught in a tragedy, we are unable to see the beauty of the world that still surrounds us. I wrote this poem after my journey with breast cancer. When I had my last treatment, I was given a clean slate, a time of rebirth, a time to start over. Think about all of the difficult times you have faced, perhaps even turning away from the simple gifts that God gives us each and every day. Commit to rebirth, to hope, to a brighter path. ReBirth   She had never seen the sun Looking up, an unmet warmth filled her face. looking out, the sea met her with sapphire beams. Her ignorance of beauty was not hers to own. A lifetime of agony swept away on obstinate waves. Moment by moment her anger became a distant stranger. Her destiny fell into lost dreams Her breath gave life to her soul. Only then could she embrace the warmth of the sun, or freshness of the sea. It was, by all means, Her rebirth.

  I love this picture of Matthew as a baby. It has nothing to do with the story I'm about to tell, except that he is in it. I guess maybe I look at this face and think about how often we are tested, how often we cry out in despair, how often we are close to losing all we hold dear. And that, is what this is about.  Last week I was called to drive Matt to class in a blinding snowstorm. I couldn't believe the college had not called off classes. Being located in the middle of wide-open space, the snow swirls like sugar in a Cotten candy maker. Nonetheless, there we were.  The only way to get to the college from our house is by country roads that weave in and out of once green pastures and cornfields that stood high and proud. Now caverns of wind and snow that seemed unforgiving as they blew past my car. It was very difficult to see the road ahead, as I tried to imagine it on a clear day. Matt and I barely spoke in what seemed like forever to take a 15-minute d...

  What makes your house a Home? Have you ever thought about losing your home? What would that mean to you? Today I talk about my own heart wrenching experience of change and redemption centered around the core of my Home. Sometimes, maybe you just live in house, not a home. A House Is Not a Home    I recently had the opportunity to contemplate this seemingly contradictory statement. Really, what is the difference?  When you look up synonyms for house This is what appears;    home,  place of residence,  homestead,  lodging place,  a roof over one's head,  habitation,  residence,  dwelling,  dwelling place,  abode  The very first synonym that appears is home. But simply put, A house is not a home. A house is mortar and beams. An inanimate object, a noun. A home, however, is filled with the love of people within it. Joy and laughter permeate the walls like paint, splashing them with the color of a family. ...