This Mama’s Dharma

Tonight I went out to dinner and a movie with the sweetest, cutest guy.  I’m still smiling about it.
He didn’t pay for anything, but I forgave him that, since he was such completely charming company.  We split a lovely Middle Eastern dinner.  He spilled a lot of his rice down the front of his shirt, [...]

I found out today that my dear friend Fredrica “Ricky” Gonzales passed away yesterday after surgery for a malignant pancreatic tumor.  While I mourn losing a friend, I am sure that she is now my champion from another place.  That woman had too much spirit to just pass away quietly.  I know she is making [...]

Two weeks later, the BlogHer 2008 conference is still so much on my mind.  I absolutely adored the conference and learned so much that I am not even close to assimilating it all.  But there was one aspect about the conference that bothered me, in hindsight.  Perhaps it was a function of the conference being [...]

“Mommy, I so love you!” declares Sami at least once a day.
Does he know what this means?  I don’t know, nor do I care, because it’s just wonderful to hear.  He says it joyfully, authentically. 
I’d like to think he’s picked it up from me.  I tell him I love him all the darn time.  I [...]

I know I’ve been a bit silent lately.   There are a few culprits: my new 9-5 job (more about that soon) and my computer being attacked by an extremely mean and nasty virus. 
But…just had to post and say that I am going to BlogHer 2008 here in Washington, DC.  I am so excited that it [...]

On Friday I had an acupuncture treatment that had me weeping.  I was shocked by the force of my tears.  Here I was, seated, with needles down my spine, my head resting on the treatment table, and the tears hit me at 80 miles an hour.  They came out in a burst and cleared as quickly as they [...]

Breathing a sweet sigh of relief tonight through my fever, raw throat, and body aches. I think it’s no wonder that I get sick now, after all the stress of the past few weeks. My body fought it off for as long as it could, and now it’s giving in.
Thank you [...]

Tonight I realized that it was about this time of year a decade ago that I came to Washington, DC for grad school — a fresh-faced twenty-two year old with a head full of enormous dreams. In my mind, I was going to become a diplomat, maybe the next Madeline Albright (before she said [...]

In doing a little internet research on the origins of Father’s Day, I was fascinated to discover that it was apparently the idea of the daughter of a single dad (widower) who wanted to honor his hard work and dedication to his children. And here I thought it was just a corporate-created Hallmark holiday [...]

Spiraling.
I know the sensation so well. It can be set off by anything or nothing, and before you know it, the painful thoughts pile on top of one other until you are buried in your own worry and despair. At some point my peaceful bubble of yesterday popped and a profound [...]