Family :: Divining The Muse

Creativity Means Broken Rules

Recently, Bob and I spent a weekend in Virginia with our grandsons and son Stephen and daughter-in-law Mindy. The two boys, Andrew and Ryan are now 5 ½ and 3 ½ and our interactions with them has changed. Instead of bouncing, lifting, carrying, swinging and all those other physical actions that infants and toddlers love, we are now doing a…

Will You Play with Me for 10 Minutes?

Posted on February 22, 2017

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. ~Carl Jung~ Bob and I spent this past weekend in Virginia with our oldest Stephen, his wife Mindy, and their two sons, Andrew (almost 5) and Ryan (almost 3). As is…

Overnight Success—Are You Pursuing It?

Posted on September 9, 2016

People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most significant success is achieved. ~Annie Sullivan~ Recently, I attended our village’s annual lawn party fundraiser for our small but excellent library. A friend who now lives with her husband year round in New Orleans, attended the event after just returning from a trip to California to see her…

The Power of Story to…

Posted on December 2, 2015

After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world. ~ Philip Pullman~ This past Thanksgiving, Bob and I traveled to Virginia to be with our oldest son, his wife and his two sons, all of whom were struggling with a virus that resulted in stuffy noses and coughs. In addition to preparing the feast,…

Are You Hatching or Smashing?

Posted on September 23, 2015

The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. Arnold H. Glasow, business man and humorist I have a new respect for caregivers, professional and otherwise, after spending a week providing care and support to my 85-year-old maternal aunt who recently returned home, after surgery and health challenges sent her to…

Can You Say, “I Do”?

Posted on August 19, 2015

This weekend, I will officiate at a wedding. The bride is a young woman I’ve watched grow from infancy, so this is especially meaningful to me. Her mom is a dear friend. So you can imagine that weddings, love and commitment have been on my mind. Years ago in 2007, Bob and I attended a wedding for the son of…