William and Kate

My mother was a Lady Diana fan.  They were close in age, and I think she somehow lived a bit through Lady Di.  My mom never really traveled much, certainly not outside the United States.  Her life was not glamorous.  I think she found excitement in Lady Diana's adventures, and a kindred spirit in her struggles. 

I grew up knowing about the Royal family.  Like the Princess and my mother, William and I are close in age.  Books, magazines, news specials, and all things Royal found their way into our household at some point or another.  When Diana died, it was as if someone in the family had been killed.  It was strange to realize just how much she had become part of my life without my consciously realizing it.

The image of William and Harry walking behind their mother's casket is one that still pulls on my heart.  Especially now that I have known the loss of a parent, I cannot imagine what they went through, so pubicly, and so young. 

I was very excited about the news of William and Kate's engagement.  So much of William's life is dictated as if it were a play on the stage of the Globe Theater, that I truly hope this is the one aspect in which he's had a measure of control and has found true happiness.  This picture was released recently, and I find it beautiful in that it seems to show a hint of that happiness.

Their lives will not be easy, but then again, neither are those of us non-royals.  Here's hoping that we can all capture a moment frozen in time such as the one in this photo.

A Saturday Morning, A Cup of Joe, A Little Peace

Sometimes the week can be so hectic that it's difficult to settle into the moments.  It can even be a blur looking back upon them to figure out just what happened and where the time went.  It's a challenge to live the moments, to truly live within in them, rather than skim right over.  This week I have made some conscious efforts to recognize my reality.

And now it's Saturday morning.  I'm sitting here with my cup of coffee, completing some online Christmas shopping, and catching up with my friends on social media (I can't even begin to imagine how many 1995 hours on the phone it would take to catch up with those I can now follow via Facebook in minutes!)  I have things to do today (baking, wrapping, work, cleaning), but I'm on my own schedule.  The day is stretched ahead of me with it's Saturday morning attitude: "Take your time, relax, enjoy.  Saturday Morning is taking care of you now.  Sit a spell."  And I think I will.

Dear Bing Crosby and David Bowie

Thank you for Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy. It's a duet one could not even begin to dream, and yet you came together, made awkward conversation, then delivered one of my favorite carols.  I could never have imagined such a treat from Mr. White Christmas and Mr. Glam Rock.  FANTASTIC!

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

Dear Time

Tonight I had to drive into the country to drop off a friend, and as I pulled out onto the lane that leads back to the highway, it started to snow.  It's one of those soft, lovely snows that all those songs extol, and as I drove into the soft night, I had this timeless feeling.  In front of me was a country road, with a field to the right, a grove to the left, and a slight hill that blocked the upcoming highway and all the business associated with it.  Save for my car and headlights, there was no indication of modernity in my immediate vicinity, and I realized that if those things were taken away, this scene would be recognizable in several spaces and times...it was a timeless scene.  It's a phrase I've often heard, and probably even used, but tonight I actually felt the life of it, and it was peaceful.  It was such a reminder that time is really relative, and the rigidity with which we measure it is one of our own making. 

Dear (Your name here)...

 Happy December!


It's the time of year that seems natural for reflection.  An undercurrent of the Holiday season, one beneath the tinsel, wrapping, and frenzy, is the searching soul.  In between "Silver Bells", "Jingle Bells", and "Sleigh Bells" are the songs that ask the deeper questions ("So this is Christmas, and what have you done?"), and it's hard to ignore those messages.


I'd like to think I'm a reflective person twelve out of twelve months of the year, but I fear I spend most of my time merely running from here to there...skimming the surface of life, and not really diving in.  It's actually exhausting to live life this way (have you ever tried to paddle a canoe by skimming the surface?  You can wear yourself out and get nowhere.  Or, you can dig in, get your hands wet, still wear youself out, but you certainly go places.)


This year, at the end of the first decade of the Millenium, I've been doing quite a bit of star-gazing (when I was very young and missing my grandfather, my dad told me all I had to do was talk to the stars and he would hear me, and ever since, that's what I've done.)  It's ten years into the 21st Century, and I still have quite a bit to learn and much to accomplish.  If you like, you are welcome to join me on the journey.