Sampson, my fifteen year old cat, who has no front claws, has been a housecat all his life. Each time we’d open a door, he and his sister, Lila tried to escape. “Back, back, back,” became a ritual saying at every entryway. Ever since Lila passed, Sampson’s gotten bored and expressed with his loud, Siamese voice his desire to go outside. Over the past six months, as I’ve let go of a lot of things, control being one of them, I’ve let him out to wander. At first he just stayed in the backyard, exploring the sights but mostly the smells and now he even ventures into the front yard. On my days off and in the evenings, I’ll leave a French door and screen open so he can come and go as he pleases. What’s funny to me is sometimes finding him sitting inside the house at the open door’s edge looking out as if the door were closed. Continue Reading »

On Saturday, May 24th, I did something I’ve never done before, I went to Fry’s Electronics in the Valley. It felt like Christmas Eve because the parking lot was jammed full and the huge, warehouse store was filled with crazed people on the search for the latest technology and gadgets. I honestly don’t get it, beside the blank DVD’s I went in for, there’s nothing in that store I needed or even wanted. I found the nearest assistant, asked for guidance and got out of the way of the frenzied shoppers. Continue Reading »

Please welcome my first guest blogger, Ms. Charlene Ross, a member of my writing group and dear friend. She is a “chick lit” novelist, who has just completed her first book. While editing the first draft of her book, her mind drifted as she recalled a sign in the audience on “American Idol,” that read, “Cougars for Cook,” please enjoy her thoughts on the young man.

I think I must be officially old. I want to love David Cook. I really do. He has everything I love in a rock star – talent, looks, and a bit of a dirty edge to him. Dirty, hot rock stars have been part of my fantasy life since jr. high starting with Robin Zander, moving on to Michael Hutchence in college, and most recently J.D. Fortune. But David Cook, I don’t know… Continue Reading »

We got lucky yesterday at boot camp because the heat wave that was strangling Southern California, broke. Monday’s session had the class using up a whole roll of paper towels to wipe off sweat from our faces, the mats and equipment. Disgusting! Not only was it hot, the air conditioning wasn’t working when we did our circuit training. So yesterday’s cooler weather made it easier to run to the trails with dumbbells in hand. Continue Reading »

One night when Matthew and I were praying, he asked, “What’s the purpose of life?” At 10-years old he felt he had no purpose and I felt compelled to ensure he knew his purpose before ten o’clock. So we changed gears from saying prayers to living prayers. We talked about being receptive to God’s will, fulfilling purpose by loving one another and reflecting God’s qualities. He seemed satisfied with those ideas, yet he said, “We live in a safe place, so I’m never able to risk my life to rescue or save anybody.” As I started to answer him with, “Thank God, we live in a safe place . . . ” I realized he just watched “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in preparation for May 22 and was yearning for excitement, so I let him continue. I understood his point of view as he talked about how “routine” life can get, “I wake up, go to school, then daycare, do my homework, eat dinner, take a shower, practice piano, go to bed and do it all over again.” Very “Groundhog Day.” Continue Reading »

I have a habit of writing notes to myself on little pieces of paper, Post-it notes, napkins, back of envelopes basically whatever I can get my hands on. It’s one of those habits I never particularly liked of my mother’s (sorry, Mom) yet I inherited or learned. I gathered all of the loose paperwork today and decided to get organized once and for all. Even though I’ve been clearing and purging over the last several years, I still feel there’s room for improvement, especially when it comes to ideas for writing. Some ideas make it to a notebook, either as a quick note such as “dream about checkers,” or as handwritten, partially fleshed out essays or the beginnings of short stories. Other ideas land on my answering machine. I call myself to leave reminders. Two ideas from the answering machine actually made it onto my website (“So You Think You Can Dance…”) and blog (“Can’t You Read the Sign?”). An idea for a reality show is jotted on a piece of paper torn from a friend’s notebook, while most everything else is on shreds of loose paper, along with other bits of information. Continue Reading »

The best part of my day was reading the card my son gave me, unlike the impersonal Hallmark cards most of us share, this was written from the heart.

It said, “My Mom is unique because she knows how to put a smile on my face, even when I’m most depressed. She always buys me video games and cool toys when I want her to. She helps me get past my homework by teaching me what I need to know. My favorite memory of my Mom is when she helped me pass a ravine in the Arrowhead mountains. She’s famous for praying to God for me!”

I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful day, I sure did.