Even though my two years of junior high (seventh and eighth grades) were my first two in racially-integrated schools, I have very few memories that have to do with race. I do remember that our junior high was the former black high school. So it was in a black neighborhood. One that was just outside … Continue reading Considering My Own Racism: My Junior High Years
Memoir
Considering My Own Racism: My Childhood
For my first 10 or 11 years, my world was populated by white people. As I said in my last post, I went to an all-white elementary school. From first through sixth grades, my school was segregated, so I only saw other white students. And white teachers and lunchroom ladies. Perhaps the custodians were black, … Continue reading Considering My Own Racism: My Childhood
Considering My Own Racism: My Foundation
I've decided to write what I expect will be a series that looks at the ways in which I am racist. I'd like to say that I'm not racist. That I see everyone equally, without prejudice. But when I'm brutally honest with myself, when I look closely at my reactions and thoughts, I find that … Continue reading Considering My Own Racism: My Foundation
Don’t make fun of your parents! This is why.
Why shouldn't you make fun of your parents? I'll give you the short answer first. Because you'll end up experiencing all of the things you made fun of! Yes, it's as if you apply a curse when you make fun of your parents. That you assure yourself of having to experience the very same things. … Continue reading Don’t make fun of your parents! This is why.
Strong, Independent Mothers Raise Strong, Independent Daughters
Though I could hardly write a better Mother's Day tribute about my mother than I did three years ago (here), this week I've had strong, independent women on my mind. So that's my topic this year. How did my mama raise my sister and me to be strong, independent women? It wasn't by saying those … Continue reading Strong, Independent Mothers Raise Strong, Independent Daughters
Surgery & Gratitude
If you want the short version of this post, here it is: My hysterectomy on March 7th went well. My doctor found fibroids which looked benign. The pathology verified that they were benign, as was the endometriosis. Here is the longer version . . . My sister came down a couple of days before my … Continue reading Surgery & Gratitude
A birthday lesson on letting go of expectations
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men / Gang aft agley (The best-laid plans of mice and men / Go oft awry) - Robert Burns Today is my 58th birthday, the one that matches my birth year of 1958. And for the first time since I was 17, I'm in the Coastal Empire on my birthday, specifically, … Continue reading A birthday lesson on letting go of expectations
My MRI Experience Last Week: Claustrophobia & Meditation
I start to feel panicky. I'm sweating. And I have to calm myself again.
I’ve Changed! (from a dog person who loved teenagers to a cat person who prefers younger kids)
When I was a kid, I thought that once you got to be an adult you became the person you'd be the rest of your life, no matter how long you lived. And what I've discovered is that I couldn't have been MORE wrong! I wrote in this blog back in the spring that I … Continue reading I’ve Changed! (from a dog person who loved teenagers to a cat person who prefers younger kids)
What’s Important: Some of What I’ve Learned from My Father
Humility and service and dependability and respect. Some of the qualities my father taught me - taught not with words but in daily life lived. I like to use Father's and Mother's Day to reflect on my parents' lives. To think about what I learned from them, to appreciate the foundation they laid for me and … Continue reading What’s Important: Some of What I’ve Learned from My Father
eddies and currents 