The Chosen Lady

In June of 2017, Major League Baseball Umpire John Tumpane was walking across the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was returning to his hotel after jogging and lunch, thoughts of umpiring the evening game in his mind.  Suddenly he noticed a woman climbing over the railing of the 79-foot bridge.  He asked other people, “What’s this lady doing?”  They replied that they didn’t know. Tumpane broke into a run. Placing his hand on the woman’s shoulder, Tumpane asked her, “Hey, what’s going on?”  She replied she was just trying to get a better look at the city from the other side of the bridge.  Observing that the woman…

Recently some dear friends embarked on an extended road trip, and their itinerary took them through Cincinnati, Ohio. My curiosity was piqued and I decided to research the name Cincinnati to see if it was a Native American name. It was not, but the story behind it both surprised and warmed my heart. I relayed what I had learned to my friends and thought that was the end of it. My ‘random’ curiosity was God’s timing, as I would soon find out. I took my son Noah on a belated birthday outing and we whiled away a rainy afternoon exploring the nearby American Independence Museum. The museum’s collection is home…

Today all my pent up anger, sorrow and stress made their appearance known in bodily form. I woke up with a brain splitting headache that turned me into a vomit comet before I could even set foot in the shower. I have a decades long history with migraines, the kind that leaves me writhing in agony waiting for my eyeball to explode out of my face and sometimes with a generous side order of panic attack. When my husband Barry was alive, he would lovingly take me to the hospital, and I’d be given a powerful cocktail of intravenous painkillers and sleep aids that would send me to a deep…

My daughter Jordan introduced me to a “cringy” t.v. series on a streaming network. It’s an angsty coming of age drama, where a teen girl is torn between two handsome brothers. The genetically blessed brothers have muscles, magnetism and trust funds. It’s endless summer at their tony Massachusetts set beach house. The backyard swimming pool is perpetually pristine, which anyone who lives in New England knows is ludicrous as there’s always, and I mean always, fallen leaves in the pool. Having driven up and down the eastern seaboard, I was shouting to Jordan within seconds, “There’s no way that’s Massachusetts! Bet me they filmed the show in Wilmington, North Carolina!”…

Recently my 17 year old son Beck had to have his car repaired and his insurance policy covered a rental car. However, because he’s six months shy of legal adulthood, I was the only one allowed to drive it. Beck had to make due with driving my minivan. Or as his dad used to call it, “The Shaggin’ Wagon Loser Cruiser.” I was excited to have the new car experience without any real financial commitment. I believed I would have the superior car for the week, judging by the exterior of the rental. I placed my car keys in Beck’s hand with a smirky grin and confidently walked across the…

At my high school graduation, there were the usual guest speakers who blabbed incessantly about reaching our potential, chasing our dreams, and other well meaning inspirational drivel. I couldn’t tell you who the valedictorian was. None of the speeches were memorable to me. I do remember the overnight party held afterwards, where the entire graduating class stayed up all night at a local private gym. We swam, watched movies, ate unhealthy food, and laughed a lot. In the morning, everyone was treated to a delicious pancake breakfast in the school gym. There were raffle prizes to win as well. I was ecstatic when my name was called and they told me…

Real estate is all about location, location, location. I wouldn’t choose any other place to live because I really like living next to my granddaughter, Lyra. When my husband was alive, he relished his role as her Grandpa and would often take her with him when he needed to run errands. Sometimes he would create errands he didn’t need to do, just to have sweet moments with her. She would gladly be his passenger princess. Barry took Lyra to the shoe store to buy her new sneakers, making sure to adhere to Lyra’s request for ‘light up shoes,’ which she promptly modeled to everyone. Eat your heart out, Dorothy Gale,…

I try to be open about my struggles, both in my life and my faith, so that others will understand that loving Jesus isn’t a force field that protects me from all of life’s hurts and sorrows. Having Jesus as my Savior is a deep abiding knowledge that He loves me deeply in return, and wants to comfort me in my brokenness. Jesus instructed believers to comfort others through his apostle Paul, saying – “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” Jesus provides believers this instruction as an important reminder for both the good times, and the heartbreaking times. (Romans 12:15-16.) Most people like rejoicing…

During a pre fight interview heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson remarked, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” In January my husband died without warning and I felt that quote in a visceral way. All my plans for ‘us’ blew away like dry leaves in the wind. In one heartbeat, I went from beloved wife to bereft widow. I have spent the past few months in bereavement boot camp, being broken down and allowing God to build me back up, often ‘one minute at a time,’ because ‘one day at a time’ is just too overwhelming. In the initial weeks after my husband’s death, I moved methodically.…

Yesterday brought me a day that wasn’t filled with appointments or caregiving to little ones. I delighted in making a family Christmas bread recipe. While the dough was rising, I began to feel a little lost, with all this time to use. What should/ could/ would I do with all these hours? I began to feel guilty that I had procrastinated sending out Christmas cards, so I got ready to complete the task. However, the more I told myself I ‘should’ do it, the more I didn’t want to. My silly self imposed push-pull dance between misplaced guilt and relaxing was stealing the peaceful hours. The real issue is that…