Category Archives: Love Conquers All

Happy Endings…Kind of

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It wasn’t a pretty scene that Friday morning.  I’d like to blame it on a long week of pulling midnights to get my editor work done, but by most Friday’s, I’m tired.  My filter is gone, and one whiny outburst from a child will result in my being less than compassionate.  Less than compassionate I was, as I gave Miss F. “the hand” when she shrieked over not having the “right shoes” to wear to her end of season cheer banquet that night. I knew it was going to be a problem, and it was one of those problems that … Continue reading →

It’s Complicated

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He was a sweet kid, around 20, I’d say, dark skinned and slightly plump and cheerful.  He was the resident “Jack of All Trades” at the Newark Crowne Plaza Hotel, one morning, mopping the floors, another, serving breakfast, and when we couldn’t get the sound to work on our slide projector, he figured out the problem.  He had become my right hand during my company’s annual conference. “Where do you live?” I ask during a quiet moment between workshops. “In Elizabeth,” he responds.  “We’ve only been here a year.  We came from Egypt.  But we’re Jewish,” he adds, as an … Continue reading →

Fierce Like Me

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The early morning hours are my favorite.  The house is quiet.  The day is new.  I sip that first cup of coffee and check email with eager anticipation of what lies ahead.  Next, I practice yoga to MC Yogi Radio on Pandora in an incense filled room, followed by a meditation session to quiet my mind and prepare me for the rest of the day. It has been said that meditation is like crack.                                                         It must be, because I never want to get out of meditation, those quiet moments compiled with nothing but the sound of my breath and … Continue reading →

Three Things That Make A Difference

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“Are you Mrs. Bernstein’s daughter?”  The attending physician asked as I rush through the double doors of the emergency room. I see my mother a few feet behind him, yet he directs me into a corridor, away from her.    What he says next comes to me in sound bytes.   “He collapsed…” “We’ve been waiting for you to get here…” ”Efforts to resuscitate have been unsuccessful….” Resuscitate? I knew this moment was coming, but that didn’t mean I was prepared for it.  My stepdad Milton had been sick for a number of months.   When he died on January 14, … Continue reading →

Balls

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Noah trotted into our living room as if he had lived here for years.  Our ninth foster dog, a Lhasa Apso mix, arrived the end of November from a shelter in Camden, New Jersey.      He was adorable, as you can see. But there was much more to Noah than this irresistible face. It was Noah’s “other end” that intrigued me. As Noah spent his first night with us, sniffing around the premises, I couldn’t help but notice his enormous set of balls. His balls were so big, they kind of got in the way of his being able … Continue reading →

15 Things I Have Learned about the Impossible

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I walked to the starting line in semi darkness along with thousands of other runners, pouring into the streets of Philadelphia from their hotels. It was 6:00 am, Sunday November 20, 2011.  I had run hundreds of miles in preparation for that day.  I ran in rain, I ran in heat waves, I ran with friends and I ran alone.  I had learned a lot about my body and its limits, both the real and the self-imposed and during my training period, I had learned the difference between the two.   I was not in ideal shape for this run.  … Continue reading →

About A Hurricane

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I could tell you that we lived without power for seven days. I could tell you that when we lost use of our furnace due to the power outage, it got cold in my house.  Very cold.  I could tell you that we wore the same clothes over and over again until they smelled because we had didn’t have a working washing machine or dryer. I could tell you that I ran a tiny car-powered generator for the first seventy two hours, in an attempt to save our refrigerated food.  But that due to the gas shortage on the Jersey … Continue reading →

The Man Who Didn’t Like Me

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He didn’t like me, which was obvious from the moment he signed into the conference, and had trouble locating his name on my list of attendees.  The names weren’t alphabetized. I didn’t have time to alphabetize.  The entirety of my Friday was a last minute scramble to print and copy a dozen different forms and handouts, while answering emails with questions on the hotel, and loading up my car in time to get to the conference when it started. I have been one step behind preparing for this conference since I began this new job a month ago. There is … Continue reading →

Getting to the Bottom of It

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“I only have two minutes I say hastily as I pick up the phone.” I know it’s Jade from the caller ID.  She’s part of my posse.  I can rush her off the phone without feeling bad or without her taking it personally.  I’m running, this time, to preschool drop off and then onto work.  The pre-game was dog pee on the carpet and two girls in simultaneous meltdowns over what to wear to school, leaving me with 20 minutes to shower, pack lunches, and get into my big girl shoes.   “This won’t take long,” replies Jade on the other … Continue reading →

The Walk

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We were half way around the block before I broached the subject, down by the lake behind my mother’s house, where we were visiting that Sunday afternoon. I grew up by that lake, walking my family dog, riding my skateboard, and flirting with first crushes on warm summer evenings.   After days of making excuses, it was time to let her in.  “Honey, I wanted to talk to you about something,” I say, fumbling into the conversation. “What Mommy?”  Miss F. asks, half listening while picking the wildflowers that grow along the sidewalk.  “Daddy…” I hesitate, “Went to live with Grandpa.” … Continue reading →