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Trains, tracks and grief

Trains, tracks and grief

By 2008, if you had asked me, I would have told you that grief felt like a freight train with no tracks. It could bear down in a way that left no choice but to try outrunning it. If I could just go fast enough, far enough, and zigzag enough, then I could leave the pain behind. For a long time after reading “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver, I kept a quote from the book in my head: “As long as I kept moving, my grief streamed out behind me like a swimmer’s long hai

When colors come together

When colors come together

For the older man in the white shirt who started slumping in his seat, the high- profile and hotly-contested college football game began to slide away. I was seated in the row right behind him - all steep seats with not much margin for error for standing, walking, sitting, or slumping. The wildly anticipated match-up between long time rivals Tennessee and Florida kicked off last Saturday afternoon, under beautiful skies - and a really hot and not-going-away-any-time-soon sun.

Grief in the 21st century

Grief in the 21st century

This cautionary tale is worth digesting. When my father died two years ago in a hospital near my home, but an hour away from his, I left the hospital and drove straight to his hometown because he had a dear friend there. She and my dad were both elderly and they cared about each other, and she was not with family. I wanted her to be told the news by me, and in person. But in the hour it took me to get to her, someone else from their hometown, who had arrived at the hospital a

An admirable election

An admirable election

I was recently privileged to follow two candidates, of sorts, in an election, of sorts. Given our current political climate, I may have begun watching this with some trepidation. Yet, I heard not one word of disparagement from either female about the other. No lies. No exaggerations. No half truths or innuendos. Not in person and not on social media. They seemed genuinely honored simply to be nominated - happy for themselves and happy for each other. They recognized th

Belmont...revisited

Belmont...revisited

Charles and I married on a Thursday night in 1969 after my sophomore year at Belmont – pretty sure I had my last exam on the Tuesday before! I had already been working part-time while I was in school. But once a married lady, I felt the need to drop out to work full time at least for the next year. At the age of 19, I was no college expert by any means. But I knew Belmont was important to me, and I wanted to finish my degree there, and graduate with my class. So at the end of

A field of courage

A field of courage

Eight years after 9/11, I was driving the 700 miles alone to visit a grand in Pennsylvania. Somewhere along the way, I had this compulsion to make a detour and visit Shanksville. I had seen photos of the field where United Airlines Flight 93 went down, but had never had the same visual grasp of that ground that I had with the towers or even the Pentagon. Plus, it just felt like I shouldn’t be that close and not pay my respects. So I started googling and began to develop some

Being present

Being present

Hiked this trail last weekend. Now Mama, before you put those hands on your hips in Heaven with that Rebecca Ann look, I was not alone. Well, granted, yes, maybe technically; but. This park is not far from my house and I love it. I usually walk out in the open, rarely taking the more secluded trails because they do meander off into the woods, and I am usually walking by myself. But last Saturday dawned with such perfect Tennessee weather that I was betting the place would be

Who knows?

Who knows?

Back in 2000, I loved the Tom Hanks movie “Cast Away.” The story line is essentially that of Hanks stranded on a deserted South Pacific island after his FedEx plane crashes. You can imagine the trauma and despair but he eventually makes the best of the island, treasuring both the memories of his fiancé and some packages that wash up from the plane’s cargo. Great movie really - but I always hated the ending. While he’s gone, life back home has moved on without him. That’s unde

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