I wrote the blog, "It's Just a House! Do something with it!!" when Paul and I were getting ready for the first tenant in our not-so-big beach house that had been in my family for forty years. I was freaking out, quietly, in my way. Emotionally, I was pushed to the edge with the intention of making the house perfect, having happy tenants, and ensuring that nothing went wrong. And nothing did go wrong, at least nothing to do with the beach house or the tenants. But six days before our first … [Read more...]
Loving, Losing, Letting Go
Yesterday, I helped out as my friend Sandy Sampson conducted an estate sale to empty her parent's home. I had to see how she did it. Sandy is an awesome daughter who provided much family caregiving over the past decade. Her father, Harry Trigg, died in April 2009, and her mother, Marion Jane Bold Trigg, passed away four months ago, on Christmas Eve. Sandy set her mind and heart to the difficult task of clearing out her family's lifetime of collections, and to do so with the willing … [Read more...]
Won’t You Celebrate With Me?
One week ago, a group of awesome daughters met to honor our mothers. We began to tell stories that had been held closely for years, and found that we didn't want to stop. Then I shared the story of the pork cake that was replaced by persimmon cake, and how a simple change in perspective (and ingredients) released me from repeating a family tradition that was making me sick. Wouldn't it be lovely to drop a deeper line into this mother lode of wisdom, creativity, and joy? Rituals of … [Read more...]
A Sister I Never Met
Bernadette Marie Stridick (6/25/1951 - 10/10/1976) For the sixteenth day of Women's History Month, I'm remembering a woman I never met, but have come to love as a sister. I imagine she would have been a good friend and sister-in-law, had she lived long enough to celebrate my wedding to her brother. In October 1989, soon after I began dating Paul, he dropped out for a couple of days. When we reconnected, he told me that the anniversary of the day his sister had … [Read more...]
Day 11 of Women’s History Month: Dear Abby Still Rules!
It's hard to follow yesterday's Facebook tribute to Susan Bass Levin, esteemed former mayor of Cherry Hill and all-around mover and shaker, but as I considered my teenage quest for wisdom, I thought of a source I assumed had become obsolete, the newspaper column, Dear Abby. With very little research, I found the online column alive and kicking. It's now written by Jeanne Phillips, daughter of the original advice columnist, Pauline Esther … [Read more...]