In The Bahamas they call bad weather “drinking days”. Bad weather is rare in The Bahamas, so I am not sure how they explain the rampant alcoholism on their balmy shores, but that’s another blog post. I have always thought of squally days as the perfect time to curl up with a good book, a […]
I work in a women’s addiction treatment center. But I don’t actually work there. You will remember photographs of my office, with the uber-chic Eames plywood side chairs (a double treat for any office because they are beautiful and sculptural but also nothing anyone would want to lounge on and chitchat for long…). I do get […]
I got a phone message from an old friend of mine last night. I haven’t spoken to him for several years and I have to admit I am kind of embarrassed to reconnect. He is the guy who taught me how to lie effectively (keep it simple, keep it close to the truth) and I feel […]
You probably already know this, but some guys use Facebook as a dating site. I get Facebook requests for “Friends” and notes from strangers who think my profile picture is “pretty” all the time. I used to agree to all takers for “Friend requests”, thinking I had met them in an online alcohol group or […]
Let Sleeping Ghosts Lie – Great Lakes National Cemetery – Holly, Michigan I had a conversation last week, with a young woman who had fallen off the wagon. She said, “I feel so horrible. So guilty. I feel like I have to start all over.” I tried to come up with the right words for her. I know […]
April 9, 2016 Grand Rapids, Michigan – look how BLUE the sky! I used to live on an island in the middle of the pretty, blue Exuma Sound. When you live on an island, you have to be resourceful. The running water goes out, so you collect rain water in buckets. The plumbing gets wonky and you […]
This morning my neighbor, who I met in the hall at 5:30 a.m., asked me if I was a “stewardess”. I got all snippy and said, “Do you mean flight attendant?” as if I was one, and felt the need to defend the melting pot of our workforce. I didn’t ask him what he did […]
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I don’t like rules. Let me rephrase that – I don’t like rules that don’t make sense to me, especially at this stage of the game. I am not defiant (I don’t think) and I am a good listener (if you present yourself well), but […]
If you look closely, there are coyote decoys on the shore… I stopped by the office yesterday and when I came out (on my way for a walk) there were small balls of ice falling from the sky. I felt like Henny Penny. I promise I am finished with metaphors and misery about the cold, but ice […]
I was on a long, cold walk this morning, before the snow storm. All the signs of spring beginning: resilient crocus and daffodils on greening lawns. When I looked out the window and saw the snow coming down afterwards, I tried to remember where I’d seen a field of spring flowers, because I wanted […]