Happy Mother’s Day, Mom

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Mother lived in Charlotte for 20 years before passing away in 2004. She enjoyed spending time with us and celebrating life’s milestones, including weddings and the baptism of all four of her great-grandchildren. She was an important part of our life and we learned from her and her life stories. The world changed more in her lifetime, 1905 – 2004, than during any other time in history. Choices and changes were facts of her life. Some of her early story is told here.

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Yes, it does matter

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Sometimes I wonder if what we do, or say, or think make a difference. People are so busy. Do they listen, or care? In my heart, I think they do. Of course, it doesn’t always show up right away. It may take weeks, or even years. People may not ever realize that the ideas stored in their brain were planted long ago, waiting for the right time to emerge. They may not remember who said it, or did it, but that doesn’t matter.

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My first art class

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I am in my very first art class. I’m learning a lot, but not how to sketch with pastels or paint with oils – I’m learning to sit still and keep quiet. These are skills I should have mastered by now, but I have never been good at either. I can’t talk or move because I am the model. I am sitting in the middle of a high school art class surrounded by a circle of a dozen students, standing at their easels, all sketching … ME.

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On Being a Mindful Minimalist

Columbia River Maritime Museum, Astoria, OR

Do minimalists start out to be minimalist or do they only intend to be more mindful? Is it a race to see who can live with the fewest items, in the smallest house? Or is minimalism only a label? My intent was not to be a minimalist. My intent was to be more mindful in my life and to stop buying more clothing for one year. I already had what I needed.

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A Walk in the Park

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Meet Louisa. She loves the park. She has made it our favorite place. Louisa is equally friendly with almost every dog she meets. She doesn’t seem to care whether their parents speak different languages because she seems to be able to talk freely with all her many friends.

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Happy Birthday, Dad

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March 19 is my dad’s birthday and this year it will be different for me. This year he will have been dead for 55 years; the same number of years he was alive before he died in 1961. My dad taught me a lot in the short time we were together, but the most valuable lesson was the hardest for me to understand …

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Going public matters …

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Back in the day, almost everyone smoked. We smoked in airplane cabins, restaurants, doctors offices (along with our doc). We smoked when and where we wanted and nobody made us go outside, in the rain, to do it. But then the teachers at our children’s school started telling the students how smoking was NOT good for people. They were scaring my kids – but they were RIGHT.

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