A gypsy scribbler's musings & ruminations
In this cancer-recovery process, I have sometimes wondered which milestone to keep in sight. June 5th 2017 = you have cancer. Mind-altering news.July 18th 2017 = first surgery to remove my thyroid and a handful of lymph nodes. Life-changing experience.March 19th 2018 = second surgery to remove leftover lymph that was still cancerous. Will it... Continue Reading →
"When the storm comes, will you reject the rain if it falls not soft? If it falls not tame?" Sickness is certain in living. Heartbreak is sure in all loving. Death is the door at the end of each path. That these things are true doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the heart's... Continue Reading →
I've always loved the game of Hidden Pictures: that corner of the Highlights kids' magazine where you stare at two nearly identical pictures and try to spot all the differences between them. Stained glass is a little like that game - there's always more to see than just the picture. There is the picture of... Continue Reading →
"I'm dying," said I. "I know. How far would you go?" said she. "How far would you go to be free?" "Free of the thing that is killing me? Cut it out! Carve and slice, burn and dice, poison it until it disappears. I surrender to the physician's knife and knowledge. In short: do whatever... Continue Reading →
Walking through the high school courtyard on my way to the office one day in spring, I ran into a tree ... so to speak. The sight of a monkey-thorn acacia in full bloom stopped me in my tracks. As I stood transfixed, gaping up at the branches, a colleague came up behind me. "What... Continue Reading →
At the start of October, a lone sniper opened fire on a crowd in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the beginning of November, a shooter entered a church in Texas and opened fire on the congregation. Both of these happened as I was in the middle of my post-op, healing journey. Though not special in the... Continue Reading →
The two girls could not look at each other anymore. Their faces were flushed and their eyes full of angry tears. One stood facing me with her arms crossed and foot thrust forward. The other stood with slumped shoulders, clutching her elbow and shifting her weight side to side as she looked through the window... Continue Reading →
One of the happy outcomes of my surgery four months ago is that I have rediscovered my voice. This is perhaps to oversimplify a nuanced experience because it's true on many different levels; still, it is also quite literally true. I have always loved to read aloud. Ever since childhood, when my family would read... Continue Reading →
When you’re new, you don’t KNOW. You don’t know what’s important and what’s incidental; what you have the power to fix yourself, and what you need someone else to fix for you. You don’t just have questions – you have questions about your questions: Who do I ask? Where do I go to find the... Continue Reading →
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