I recently spoke at a woman’s retreat on the subject of contentment: a tough subject for most of us. Our gathering was small, about thirty five women in all. Yet it was exactly right. One by one, we opened closed doors and introduced each other to the person hiding behind them. One by one we…
It was late July or early August and we were all at the lake, hanging out at the old cabin. It was just past sunset – that time of day when everything cools off and those familiar night sounds begin to echo from the surface of still waters. There was always a damp earthiness that…
When we first moved to the island our next door neighbor was probably close to ninety years old. She loved us because we sat out on our deck in the evenings with a glass of wine just as she did. We were kindred spirits, she would say. As that first summer in our little…
When I was growing up, I had one sister four years older and the other one twelve years younger, therefore I looked to my neighborhood for a suitable sister-friend. I found one in my neighborhood playmate, Karen. She and I were closest during the “dress-up” years. We loved it. Karen had a “dress-up” box containing…
Sisters! There is nothing like sisters. My heart breaks for any woman who has to make her way through life without one. Sisters are better than gold. They are magic and rich chocolate frosting piled on graham crackers, and hot fudge sundaes with nuts, whip, and a cherry on top. At least that’s how they…
As the little girls grew up, they became clever and mischievous. One day, toward the end of their first grade year, Sue called and asked that I go to the school and pick our trouble-times-two, up from the nurse’s office. Apparently they were sick. I can’t tell you how many times the two of them…