Another Year Over, A New One Just Begun…

I figured I’d squeeze out one more post as 2023 draws to a close. As I reflect on the year, I wonder, how do people who don’t keep journals or detailed calendars remember everything that happened? As I flip through my bullet journal and my morning pages journal, I’m a bit surprised at how much […]

How ‘Fleischman is in trouble’ saved me from nostalgic disaster

I’ve always been a nostalgic person. Even when I was in elementary school, I would look back fondly on my pre-school days and think of how great my life had been when I could wake up, have breakfast with Gram, watch Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers and spend the rest of the day playing with […]

Things I still feel guilty about 20 years later.

As I’m sure most people can relate, I’ve done some dumb things in my life. Sometimes these moments are laughed off, sometimes they go down in the record books (see my umbrella story) and other times they just haunt me forever. This particular story haunts me because I am ashamed to have been the bigoted […]

2018: A Visual Montage

Going through my photos from 2018 has reminded me of how many good moments we had throughout the year, and how much I have to be grateful for. The year kicked off in a dark place with Mom’s cancer diagnosis, but after chemo, surgery and radiation (and now oral chemo), we can see the light […]

Back with another one of those block rockin’ beats!

Howdy! So much for my “life purpose” of sharing my experiences so others can know they aren’t alone. Failure! I won’t bore you with excuses for why I haven’t written all summer. None of them are really valid reasons. The truth of the matter is that I am just lazy and unorganized. Today I write […]

The Hermit Life

I haven’t felt much like writing lately. I have felt more like burrowing deep into my home and not coming out for an indeterminate amount of time. I suppose we could blame my melancholy on the time of year, although I am hyper-aware that each successive morning and evening is a little brighter than the […]

7th Grade Gym Class Hell

“Get it! GET IT!” my teammates shout as the gleaming white volleyball hurtles toward me like a meteor. More defensively than athletically, I stick my palm outward to shove the ball away from my face. My face – always the target of flying objects – as if all the surgical trauma wasn’t enough. The ball […]

September 25th

Today’s date is a significant one for me – it is Gram’s birthday, first and foremost. She would have been 95 today. If she was still alive, the McKelvie clan would have gathered together to celebrate with a nice dinner, and, more importantly, a nice dessert. I suppose we could have gotten together anyway, and […]

Don’t Hate – Meditate

Learning to take care of myself has been a challenge, coming from a family and culture of “do-gooders”, but you can’t help others if you’re not in a good place yourself!

For me, meditation is key to feeling better both mentally and physically.

A Vermont Wedding

On July 1, 2017, my brother John married his longtime love Cara, in a beautiful Vermont wedding. The party began on Friday afternoon, when many of the guests began arriving at the Echo Lake Inn in Ludlow, VT. It was raining off and on, so we were mostly confined to the porch, where everyone was […]