July, 2025
John O’Donohue was an Irish Catholic priest, until he wasn’t, and a beautiful writer of philosophical musings. His book of poems, or blessing, or prayers called “To Bless the Space between Us” is one of those I turn to again and again, and am rewarded.
July, 2025
Maybe it was the trip to Ireland several months ago. Maybe it’s the fact that it appears I am now the designated family source that the nieces and nephews are being sent to for ancestry information.
In any case, I’m not swabbing any cheeks but I am enjoying browsing old records. What have I learned? For one thing, when I was a kid we didn’t know anyone else named McEnroe (at least not until John burst onto the tennis scene), so we thought it was a rare name. Not so, turns out that there are many, many of them.
Also turns out that you can’t really count on people to have accurately reported their ages and birthplaces, or spelled their names, with any consistency. And that those Irish Catholics, whether in Ireland or in the U.S., really had quite a short list of names they chose from. Maybe that’s how Delia becomes a nickname for Bridget.
Makes for better late night scrolling than some social media platforms I could name.
July, 2025
Things are feeling a little heavy lately.
Meditation helps, for sure.
But sometimes, a little silliness is called for.
We caught sight of this in the hands of a toddler at a local art fair.
Days later, my boyfriend/husband did one of those things he does – surprised me with a room full of bubbles and was rewarded for it with a fit of giggles.
They look like soap bubbles, but they are really endorphin bubbles.
“If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done” Ludwig Wittgenstein
