A Time of Renaissance

… welcome to my new normal.

I am a native of Southern California where cool temps are rare but always a welcome change for this gal. I am a proud, very proud Mom of three adult children. They are the most incredible, amazing cast of characters that have graced my life.

I worked in a male dominated industry for nearly 30 years, but cashed out and walked away to pursue a lifelong call. I trust God for every day and every step in this new journey of mine. There is a lot to do and funds to raise, it is both thrilling and frightening.

I celebrated a 30th wedding anniversary and planned an unexpected funeral in 2012. Widowhood arrives without instructions, provides no sense of direction and sends everyone it touches into an emotional vertigo. It upends everything that was once familiar and destroys the life you once knew. I have learned in the most profound way, “tomorrow is never promised” – and though my journey has seen many dark places, and I have experienced moments of unspeakable despair and sorrow. I am discovering joy once again in my life with a whole new perspective. I am learning to appreciate the hidden blessings in all of my “second-firsts.”

I created this blog in celebration of that unexpected Grace. When your heart begins to see glimpses of hope, when your heart begins to heal. Living through loss can change you, dare I say for the better? I know that it has certainly deepened my resolve to appreciate each day and live life in its fullness.

“A time of renaissance“

Journaling, blogging … a way to record thoughts, feelings and experiences. An opportunity to look back from time to time. An opportunity to look ahead …

Travel, that’s the plan – planes, trains and automobiles. Revisiting some old favorites and mapping out new adventures.

Family, staying on track – as a family we found a way of healing healthy through exercise and diet. It created a dramatic lifestyle change. I still exist somewhere between healthy recipes and my comfort food favorites. But getting up and getting out to exercise was the real game changer for me.

Holidays, recipes, volunteering. Exercise, preparing for the marathon. Friends, fashion and decorating. Good reads, bad reads – books in general. Music and art …

Perhaps, one day it’ll all make sense to me. But for now I have found peace in honoring this place of “no longer and not yet”

Humor is honest and laughter is healing and life I have learned is so much more then moving from one incident to another.