may 2017

there are so many lives i want to remember this holiday, though none of them were lost in military battles.

there was my high school social studies teacher who taught me about the myth of sisyphus during one of my darker, adolescent storms.

there was the therapist who listened patiently as i cried through the early months of adulthood and asked me only one question when i finally came up for air:  did you marry the wrong man?

there was the patchwork of older women who became surrogate moms to me because i still need(ed) guidance and direction sometimes.

and most of all there was papa, who would have turned 97 this month.  he taught me the most important lessons of all:  to live with a full and open heart and to hold onto hope no matter what.

thank you to all of them for their truth, their wisdom, their kindness, and their care.  the love they poured into me is what fuels what i give to others.