Choose Joy in the Journey

  My dad played the concertina.  Some call it a squeeze box.  Mom and dad were children of Polish immigrants and knew how to party hard.  Growing up, I watched as they hosted many a celebration in our modest home and I loved the joy of seeing my dad play his heart out to old Polish waltzes and polkas.  He came from a family of 12 children so my childhood contained lots of cousins and uncles who took turns at the concertina with their rendition of polkas while my aunties filled our dining room with double-hop polka dancing.  Add a little whiskey to the mix and you've got a loud shindig.  Simple fun.  I loved it. You can imagine my delight finding a concertina display in the Poland Wing at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ.  Memories flooded my mind and I wished my cousin, Joyce, could be with me in that moment.  She and I reminisce like crazy about our childhood--the Polish pierogis, Kolaczki cookies and Christmases in our gran...

I slept right through my birthday last week.  I got hammered with a nasty head cold which kept me bedridden for four days.  It's okay.  We celebrated the week before.   The weekend before, my daughter was off from work but told me she had to work on the weekend of my special day.  I got to pick a place for dinner that night and chose Javelina Cantina in Sedona.  It was wonderful and so was the homemade white cake with coffee we enjoyed back at the house. My immune system is strong so I'm surprised I got hit so hard.  I admit, I've been down in the dumps since my closest friend, Maureen, received the severe cancer diagnosis.  Our friendship is pure gold.  I let myself feel the deep sadness and perhaps, I stayed there too long.  Is that why I got sick?  Was I depressed and vulnerable and open to attack? I want to say a big "Thank You" to all of you who stopped by and offered prayers for us.  It meant so much to me and to Mau...

  The predicted snow started to fall in large, fluffy flakes from a gloomy dark gray sky.  It was late morning and the pines and crusty, dry ground soaked up the moisture.  This winter scene contrasted our usual bright Arizona sunny skies.  We, and the earth, crave moisture.  It's been so dry without rain for over 150 days. In my kitchen, my crock pot alerted me with bubbling sounds so I switched my homemade chicken soup to low.  Chocolate chip cookie dough waited on the counter for the oven to reach 175 degrees. My cell phone notified me of a new text message and I saw my best friend's name appear at the top of the screen.  "Oh, good" I thought.  She responded. My bestie lay in a Phoenix hospital awaiting surgery after a slew of tests.  I had sent an encouraging text with a Scripture earlier with hopes to deliver peace and quiet rest for her soul.  "No surgery tomorrow,"  she wrote.  It's cancer and they're sending me home to ...