Fallen Giants

It has been 144 days since my last post here. Where, you ask, have I been?  Down Rabbit holes which lead nowhere On side trails leading elsewhere and on inner journeys going everywhere This morning,  I found the tallest sunflower in my garden lying face down on the ground. My neighbors tell me there has …

Deborah H Rahalski

Three Generations

Today marks a very special Mother’s Day, as our family recently welcomed a third generation. The arrival of a sweet young daughter born to my nephew and his wife mean my wonderful Mom is now a great-grandmother. The day she got to meet this sweet new baby, my sister-in-law told me Mom sang a Japanese …

Deborah H Rahalski

This Morning

So fellow travelers, when I woke up this morning , as on most mornings, the first thing I saw was a photo of our two daughters.    However, unlike any other morning, this morning when I saw their beautiful faces I realized I was thankful they actually do not look more Asian. And that breaks …

Deborah H Rahalski

Sally’s Story

So fellow travelers, today I’m taking a break from my own“ memoirs of a pandemic year” to honor a very special team of women and one very lucky dog. This is Sally.  On March 8th, sweet Sally  succumbed to congestive heart failure. This is her story, shared with permission of all the amazing earth angels …

Deborah H Rahalski

Dreaming of Snow Geese

While we’ve flipped the calendar page from February to March, the ever fickle weather gods of CNY have decided to flip backwards from February to January making the first week of March monotonous, blustery and grey. Even our dog agrees it’s unpleasant for walking. Worse still, I imagine any spring migrants are feeling pretty discouraged …

Deborah H Rahalski

The Error of Our Ways

So fellow travelers, much of the currently circulating narrative looks back on where we all were a year ago before “life as we knew” it changed so dramatically. The post I was crafting with a similar focus has a distinctly depressing tone and heaven knows I really do not want to add to the pervasive pandemic …

Deborah H Rahalski

A New Song

Greetings, fellow travelers! Yes it has been a long and silent month here. The struggle to find ways to adapt has moved to a deeply personal level and my energies have been focused elsewhere. I am ok, yet many I know are not. And, the ongoing warfare between narratives troubles me- it has stifled my ability …

Deborah H Rahalski

In the Winter of Peril

“Conflict is seductive- navigate it consciously.”  Lee Harris So fellow travelers, one week ago here in the United States, new leadership took charge of our country, and in the week since I have become gradually aware of waking up with a growing sense of relief and a marked absence of background anxiety, even as we …

Deborah H Rahalski

Mythbusters

So fellow travelers, thirteen days ago, at precisely the same time as the clock above my desk shows right now, I was working on a new blog post when my phone started “pinging” with notifications. Determined to focus on writing, I resisted the temptation to pick it up, but then I heard my husband, who …

Deborah H Rahalski

Gentle Blossom

So fellow travelers, yesterday brought a gathering of cousins and another farewell. My husband’s aunt passed from this life peacefully, a week ago today. Aunt Mary was the oldest and, at 102, also the last surviving of her seven siblings. She always insisted she would live to be 100 and like anything she set her mind …

Deborah H Rahalski