Formative Days It’s been more than three years since my divorce, but I still find comfort in some traditions that my fabulous ex-wife introduced to me. In this case, I mean the Jewish tradition of the memorial candle, or yahrzeit candle, lit on the day of a loved one’s death to celebrate their life. I […]
Posts Tagged ‘family’
In the Presence of Great Spirit
Posted: 26th February 2018 by admin in BlogTags: #LGBT youth, family, healing, leadership, love
A chapter from Urban Tidepool 2008 I wasn’t looking for a new site to set up another drop-in center. I already had enough to do without adding one more program. But when I was asked to apply for a foundation grant that would allow us to do just that and hire a program manager, I […]
The Un-Spirit of Christmas
Posted: 17th December 2017 by admin in BlogTags: Christmas, family, family of choice, grief work, healing, holiday traditions, holidays
There is no time of the year that I am as aware of my shortage of family of origin as I am at the holidays. This is what some of us were raised with, right? Holidays are about family. Old songs extoll traveling long miles over snowy roads to be with family for that special […]
On Critters, Kindness, and Courage
Posted: 2nd September 2017 by admin in BlogTags: courage, dogs, family, heroes, kindness, love, pets
Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution. ~ Kahlil Gibran Last fall, I took a plunge and brought a third dog into my house. I wasn’t puppy shopping at the time. I was really nervous about adding another set of paws to the 12 already […]
Moving a Lighthouse
Posted: 15th November 2014 by admin in BlogTags: Cape Hatteras, catharsis, challenges, courage, family, fear, healing, lighthouse, overcoming, progress, self-care
I spent a few days on the Outer Banks last week, a gift from a friend who owns a vacation property in Nags Head. Beyond being just a fun place where you can show up pretty much anywhere as you are, the area holds a lot of sentimental value for me. It is the last […]
A Dad of a Sort
Posted: 15th June 2014 by admin in BlogTags: birth order, family, Father's Day, fathers, parents
On Mother’s Day, I did a post dedicated to the mothers of a sort who were around in my life after the mom-of-a-sort who brought me into this world had to leave it. It seemed fair that on Father’s Day that I offer some commentary on the father who was around a while longer than […]
Finding Gratitude
Posted: 31st March 2014 by admin in Blog, UncategorizedTags: brothers, death, family, gratitude, grief, healing, loss, love
A yahrzeit candle burns in the kitchen and throughout the day, I’ve pondered the intimacy of sharing the experience of someone’s death. Intimacy seems an odd word and yet nothing more suitable comes to mind. This sharing shapes me. It might shape any of us, I think…the piercing loss that dulls over time to add layers […]
Among Firsts
Posted: 10th January 2014 by admin in BlogTags: Christmas, family, family of choice, firsts, holidays, New Year, refection, transman
The mom spending the first Christmas without her son. The daughter spending the first Christmas without her mom. The mom whose son was deployed to Afghanistan at the beginning of December. The young transman whose family has disowned him after his body started to change, when it was obvious this was no longer “just a […]