Being Struck By Lightning Helped Lighten Their Loads

tote bags food bank

The Prompt: Tell us about a time you’d been trying to solve a knotty problem — maybe it was an interpersonal problem, a life problem, a big ol’ problem — and you had a moment of clarity when the solution appeared to you, as though you were struck by lightening. OK, so first I have […]

Five Things I Did To Make Myself a Merry Christmas

donation coat and blanket

I answered the daily prompt about writing a note when I’ve visited a new place. This year, I worked hard for Christmas. Not shopping, cleaning or cooking. I worked hard on my attitude. And it paid off. The holidays are really hard for so many of us, an emotional flashpoint for anxiety, depression, addiction and […]

Our Family Christmas House Putz

Christmas House putz

The Prompt: Merry Christmas (if you’re Christian)! Share a photo from your day. Also the best holiday ever is sometimes learning what happened back in the day to create your modern customs. Merry Christmas! These photos capture the spirit of a family tradition stemming from my father’s maternal relatives – the Remleys. They were German and […]

Guilt, PTSD and a Dog Named Jack

Daily Prompt: The Guilt that Haunts Me  Share a time when you were overcome with guilt. What were the circumstances? How did you overcome your guilt? What an interesting prompt that happens to fall on Christmas Eve when the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future haunt Ebeneezer Scrooge. I’ve been really enamored of A […]

Why I Am Spewing All This Heavy Stuff On My Blog

kindness mental illness

Someone recently told me that they’ve enjoyed reading my NaBloPoMo posts where I respond to a daily prompt because it helps them get to know me better and makes them think. That’s high praise. Inspiring people to think is pretty much the end goal for a blog (with occasional calls to action, of course.) I’m […]

Who Is My Number One Person?

The Prompt: Who is the most important person in your life? Describe that person in as great a detail as you can muster and most importantly, tell us why you cherish this person.   [slideshow_deploy id=’5857′]

Forgiveness (and Peace) Begin With Me

forgiveness Christmas

The Prompt: Share a story where it was very difficult for you to forgive the perpetrator for wronging you, but you did it — you forgave them. So – wow. This is a very difficult question to address. Forgiveness is not my strong suit. I’m more of a ‘let’s pretend everything is okay’ type – but […]

Saturday Memory: Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas

Emmet Otter

Who is with me on this one? Jim Henson created this from a children’s book. It aired on HBO in 1978 and then on ABC in 1980. I was 8 and we might have had HBO in 1978, but it is more likely that I saw it on ABC in 1980. I have no idea […]

Kindness Is Not Always Random

homeless Pittsburgh

The Prompt: Tell us about the time when you performed a secret random act of kindness — where the recipient of your kindness never found out about your good deed. How did the deed go down? This is a tough one for me. I’ve certainly participated in many  projects anonymously, mostly behind the scenes as a […]

Mad As a Hatter

Roseanne johnny Galecki

The Prompt: Tell us about a time when you flew into a rage. What is it that made you so incredibly angry? I’ve written about my struggle with accepting that life isn’t fair. I’m not sure how I would define a rage versus just a general bout of talking loudly to blow off steam about something, […]