I made the conscious choice to not have children in this lifetime. As I grew older and remained single, I figured that when I finally met my life partner, in all likelihood he’d have been married at least once already and probably have children. That was ok with me – I just didn’t want to raise them. And so it was with Rog… His children were in their early 20’s when we met up in Summer 2004. Since they all lead active adult lives, I’ve not spent large chunks of time with them, although I do enjoy their company and I think they’d say it’s mutual. It’s been almost 5 years now and I’ve never felt that I was really a mom, a step mom that is. The first time someone referred to me using that label I truly didn’t know who they were referring to! I’ve felt perhaps I was like an older sister – and, at times, when I wasn’t up to date with the latest lingo (like what “411” means), I’ve felt like the younger one! So, Mother’s Day is not a day that is about me. Just because I’m a woman, doesn’t mean I’m a mom … Continue reading →

I am just getting to blog now at 9 PM and I really don’t know what to say… It’s been a long day in some ways, emotionally heavy I’d say. Along with the blessing of delivering flowers for Mother’s Day and getting to experience, surprise, joy, and appreciation of the moms, I came up against some tough life situations. Our first delivery was for three residents of a rehab and assisted living facility. Great – children sending flowers that will light up their mothers’ lives in what can be a dreary, cold environment. Turns out one of the moms was an independent living resident, and yesterday she left for hospice. Living independently one day, in hospice the next. That hit me like a ton of bricks. The receptionist was able to track which hospice this woman had been admitted to and we were able to deliver the flowers, an accomplishment I was most glad of considering this woman’s circumstances. Some of our other deliveries took us through the poorer neighborhoods of the area. We delivered a large vase of beautiful roses to a woman not much older than myself. As she was disabled with arthritis, it took her a little … Continue reading →

“To hear God’s Voice, all you need do is ask,“Do I want Peace or do I want suffering?”If your answer is Peace, you have already heard God’s Voice within you.”– The Voice for Love, 05.06.09 With the busyness and priorities of the day piling up, yesterday I lost my peace. I noticed it slowly creeping in when it was 3 o’clock in the afternoon and I’d only just completed the first necessity of the day. Then, spending 1½ hours on a tech writing task that should have taken only 5 minutes, my meltdown was getting evident. Only I chose to ignore it, further eroding my peace. By the time I ate my evening meal, stressed about what was left that I “had to” do and upset that I’d not had time to myself, I was definitely in ‘not a happy camper’ mode. Finally, after looking forward to packing up my office (“one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor”) and not having the patience for that, I called the day over. Sure, I did pray somewhat throughout the storm. But what I really needed to do was to take care of myself and that would’ve been taking time out and sitting … Continue reading →

We’ve recently been asking people for help, offering some suggestions as to the form it might take. One idea was if they knew of a house situation in northern Arizona where we could barter our talents and services for rent. Another was to contribute to our Move Fund. And, the 3rd was to keep us in their thoughts and prayers. One of my friends came up with another, this one a lead for some unusual -for us- paid contract work. With this Sunday being Mother’s Day, the florist where she works was looking for drivers to make flower deliveries; 800 orders are already in! The pay is per arrangement delivered and we could conceivably earn enough in one day that would be the equivalent of more than a month’s worth of groceries (no, the florist is not paying the equivalent of a bank CEO’s bonus – we’ve just really cut down on expenses!). It’s appealing to us not just for the money but for a myriad of reasons: Rog and I love flowers, we can spend time together, work as a team (which we do so well), and be messengers of sheer joy as we light up people’s day with … Continue reading →

Boy, I sure have come a long way from my atheist days! I’ve just spent some time submitting a prayer request to a number of online sites. Not only would this have never happened when I was an atheist, but even asking for help from anyone would have been an anathema. These days I do believe in God, and I do believe that all things are possible with God. It’s a whole new way of thinking, a whole new way of living. Also, I have learned to ask for help from God and all beings interested in my upliftment, human, angelic, etc. I am clearly not alone and there is much power within me and around me. I just need to reach for it, to ask for help. I am grateful these days I can and do.