Imitate the Wise

Every afternoon or evening, when it’s not ninety degrees outside, I take my dogs on a walk. The puppy is tethered to a leash, of course, and may be for some time as we’re just beginning more intensive training with her. However, our ten-year-old lab (who is expertly trained and comes to me in and instant, standing by my side until I tell her she can go) has the pleasure of running free, and she relishes in chasing rabbits and plunging head-first into water-filled ditches (no rabbits have been caught or harmed). In fact, Rosie is a head-first kind of dog. We used to worry that she would hurt herself each time she went barreling down the hall toward our bedroom only to find the door closed after she rammed it with her head. Luckily it didn’t take long for her to learn to test the door first to see if the air conditioning fan had slammed it shut again. I keep waiting, though, for her to ram a culvert or a tree as she plunges ahead at break-neck speed.

It’s not unlike watching people or even governments running at break-neck speed, heads jutting forward, throwing caution to wind. So often, we go through life without ever looking up or ahead. I’m not talking about those who never look up from their cell phones as they cross a busy intersection, but really, isn’t the result the same? To push ahead, forge recklessly into the unknown, and never stop to see what’s coming up.

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Are You Seeking Adventure?

Earlier this morning, I read that spending trends among Americans are changing. Rather than buying things (which we all did a lot of over the past year), Americans are buying experiences (which we did very little of in 2020). People are realizing that they have enough stuff but not enough experiences. People are not only ready to get out of their house (and out of their pajamas and sweatpants) but to get out into the world.

I’m always amazed by those who have little but live a lot. By that, I mean those who sell everything and buy a sailboat or an RV and live life as one grand adventure. A few years ago, friends took their four small children (and I mean really small–ages 3-9) on a sailboat trip around the world for a year. I can’t even imagine that! Ken was enthralled and talks often about selling everything and living the rest of our lives visiting one campground after another.

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The Great Adventure

Did you ever see the movie, Up? The movie is about Carl, a grumpy old man whose wife passes away before they do the last thing on their bucket list–visit Paradise Falls. Carl ties hot air balloons to his house in order to fly himself to South America to live out his last great adventure with his beloved Ellie on his mind and in his heart. There’s a lot more to the story, but Carl learns the beautiful message of the movie when he returns from his adventure, still not satisfied with the way his life has turned out. He sits in his chair and leafs through the photo album of his life with Ellie and realizes that their entire life, every single moment great and small, was an adventure.

The older I get, the more I realize that there are all kinds of adventures.

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Beneath the Surface

Those who follow me on social media know that I’ve spent the past seven days at our family’s cabin the San Juan Range of the Rocky Mountains in Southwest Colorado. I’ve been enormously blessed to be able to share this majestic part of the world with eight other women from my tribe of women to whom I have become close since meeting in the Holy Land in 2016. Six of the women had to leave after five days, but two were able to stay a little longer and will return home later today. To say that a piece of my heart goes with each one of them is an understatement.

I learned so much about and from these women in just a few days, and the insights continue as the week goes on…

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It’s Not The Destination…

The World is a Book and those who do not Travel read only one page.

Though travel has not been a common household word lately, my email inbox continues to be flooded with travel blogs, airline deals, and invitations to join pilgrimages. For most of the past year, I have deleted many of the emails without opening them, knowing I would be torturing myself if I read them, but lately, I’ve found myself reading about The Best Waterfalls in the US and 9 Destinations You Wouldn’t think to Visit but Should. I spent an hour the other day listening to Peter Greenberg’s latest vlog on Facebook to hear what’s happening in the world of travel.

I’m ready to go. I’m ready to explore. Though we planted a small garden, and I’ve actually taken a mild interest in my flower beds, I’d leave it all behind in a heartbeat.

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A Camping We Will Go


2020 Flag and NYCAnother Memorial Day has come and gone, and with a salute to those who have given all so that we may enjoy the land of the free, we leap from spring into summer. Like many, our summers typically involve some kind of family vacation. In fact, our summers are usually peppered with trips here and there, some quite elaborate while others just short day trips or weekends away. This summer, though, our vacations will be altered quite a bit. With Rebecca’s wedding coming up this fall, we were already planning on traveling less with just one trip abroad or a small trip or two to visit friends. However, the annual class on energy regulation that my husband teaches every summer in Florence, Italy, has been canceled, and the other trips we planned were to states that are, and may continue to be, on lockdown. 

I read an article the other day that said… Read more

Choosing the Good Life


2020 GuatemalaEarlier, I saw a meme online that said, “We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life. It’s up to us to make it good or bad.” What a simple but profound statement. 

We are all born into a certain life. Some are born and then a new life is chosen for them. But for all of us, we don’t have any say in where we come from. Some are born to wealth and others to poverty. Some are born into fame while some obscurity. Some are born free while others are born into captivity of one kind of another. No matter where one starts, there are millions of choices as to where one ends up.

Let me tell you a short story… Read more

Along For the Ride


I’ve written many blogs about change over the years. I’ve always said I welcome change, and I do, even though sometimes change can bring about unexpected circumstances and even trials. Change can be scary; it can be turbulent; and it can be wonderful. One never really knows what lies around the bend even on a road that has been traveled hundreds of times. And sometimes, even anticipated change can bring with it a wave of uncertainty. 2002 waves

Though we had been preparing for possible change for several months, when it happened… Read more

Praying for Balance


As you may know, I’ve been traveling quite a bit this fall. Some of it was planned, and some was spontaneous. It was wonderful, but I’m so happy to be home even though coming home can be hard. I absolutely loved sleeping in my bed for the first time last night, curled up with Rosie beside me, and I’m so happy to be getting back into my routine because it’s the routine that always suffers most when I’m not at home. While I try to keep up with emails and voice messages when I’m away, it doesn’t always work. Things slide by or fall to the wayside. My workouts usually come to an abrupt halt, and my sleep cycle is off. The first week I’m home is just like being away–I’m faced with fatigue, a pile of laundry, and twice the work in what seems like half the time. I’m left feeling off-kilter and a bit frazzled. It’s kind of like I’m heading up the wrong tree!

Argentina Side of Falls - 63.jpg

While working out this morning (for the first time in two weeks), my instructor said something that made everything clear… Read more

When I, in Awesome Wonder


When I was a little girl, going to Mass with my family or at school, I loved it when we sang the hymn, Sing to the Mountains. It’s little wonder that one of my favorite places to go to as an adult is Colorado. We cherish every minute we are blessed to enjoy in our mountain cabin, but there are many other places I’ve been blessed to see, and each one of them makes me want to proclaim,

Sing to the mountains, sing to the sea.
Raise your voices, lift your hearts.
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let all the earth rejoice.

The past few days, Ken and I have marveled at the beauty of God’s creation in one of the most amazing places on earth… Read more