The Year I Broke with Tradition
It was soon-to-be Christmas and all I knew was: I couldn’t be home for the holidays. Why? Too much bad had happened. We were coming off two years of horror with my husband’s terminal disease. He died on January 1st, of that year; we all limped along, in recovery, for 12 months; and now, the…
Authors and Payback
To borrow a well-known phrase from best-selling author, Anne Lamott, in Bird by Bird: ‘If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.’ — My own version: “You never want to piss off a writer, for you never know when pay-back will come.”
“These Are a Few of My Favorite Things…”
(A nativity scene my girls and I got in Cozumel, Mexico, years ago. We hand-carried it home. It’s now a colorful and cherished part of our tradition.) In the glass display case running along the corridor at Rhode Island Hospital, are gift boxes of Mr. Potato Head, a Rhode Island-designed toy, made right here at…
Christmas in Our Cape
Our home glowed orange during the Christmas season, since that was the color of the candles Mom positioned in the windows throughout our two-floor Cape. I felt it a fine color—the glow seemed heavenly. Some lights were tiers of three candles, while others were singular, but they all bathed our home in a warm…
Latest Reviews of My Guest-Speaking
Dear Colleen, “What a wonderful day we had at Leisure Learning. Everyone was so impressed with your presentation! You have inspired many from the youngest to the oldest. You know from the audience’s response you held their attention to the very end. I am so proud that I was able to introduce you….” (photo is…
Never Be Fooled by the Outer Package
27 years ago…. The scene is a party I hosted for my brother who’d accepted a physician position at George Washington University Hospital. He and his family would be leaving Sudbury, Massachusetts. We in the family all chipped in to give him this party. Only problem? My fiancée (with whom I’d bought this house seen…
