Missing someone shows just how special they truly are

Love & Relationships
Today I’m feeling rather homesick. While it might be easy to magnify that feeling – allowing it to bring down one’s spirit and ultimately one’s day – I’m accepting that this is just how I’m feeling today, rather than becoming overwhelmed by it. It’s important to understand that being “homesick” is a natural feeling that everyone experiences at one point or another. It’s not limited to those of a certain age, wealth or geographic location. It has no biases or predictability – it’s just one of those emotions that pops up during holidays and birthdays, or is triggered by a familiar smell or sight which brings you back to another place and time. I’ll admit that a quote by Nikki Schiefelbein does comfort me some this morning. It reads: “It's…
Read More

Hoarding time benefits no one – sharing your time is the greatest gift

Generosity & Kindness, Life & Living, Love & Relationships
“Nothing annoys people so much as not receiving invitations.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest Something I’ve come to miss most in my life is the regularly scheduled Sunday dinners my Italian American family used to host. Typically they were held at my grandmother’s house, with a huge bowl of pasta covered in red sauce as the centerpiece - accented by dozens of meatballs and sausages, a crunchy loaf of Italian bread and a chopped salad. I’m getting hungry just writing this! My cousins were there, aunts and uncles and me all set to enjoy the weekly gathering filled with stories, laughter and reminiscing. Regardless of your schedule, you always knew there was an open invitation at grandmas, with plenty of food, company and love of family. But…
Read More

Keeping holiday memories (and those we miss) alive

Love & Relationships
“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness.” ― Bob Hope When I was a little boy, my grandmother purchased me a tiny Christmas tree for my room. It stood proudly atop my dresser – probably all of 12 inches tall, with a handful of multi-colored lights interspersed between the artificial branches. I can still remember the enjoyment I found sitting in the darkness of my bedroom – the only illumination coming from that little tree, while listening to the Alvin and The Chipmunks holiday cassette over and over again. It was a solitary celebration I suppose, but to this day I still can remember how special it felt to have that little…
Read More

The holidays are a time for celebration and sadness

Love & Relationships
“There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story.” ― Mary Lou Kownacki If you were flying like a bird, whose graceful wings provide the ability to carry you across thousands of miles of varying landscapes, the world below might look fairly non-descript. Human beings would appear like thousands of tiny ants all running around chaotically from one place to another – all seemingly “the same”. Outward appearances often reveal very little about a persons triumphs and failures. The facades we create when we walk out the front door each and every morning conceal sorrow, insecurity, fear and a host of other feelings and emotions we keep safely guarded from everyone but those we truly know we can rely on. The other day I found myself somewhat humbled…
Read More

It’s people who make a house feel like home

Love & Relationships
“Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there any more.”  ― Robin Hobb My wife and I continue to settle in to our new house, and as the boxes clear and the paint cans get stored in the basement, it’s truly beginning to feel like “home” when we walk through the front door. And even though there are still rooms void of furniture and decorative accessories; closets and cabinets in need of some major organization, Hobb’s statement rings clear. It truly is the people that make a house feel like home – not the material possessions we will undoubtedly fill it with. It’s sitting on the couch with that special someone –…
Read More