Prisoner of Hopes

Category: Uncategorized

  • Cruise culture: Travel Goals

    We said we would never cruise, and yet I found myself on a Holland America ship for thirty five days in order to sail around South America. My hesitation for cruise travel had nothing to do with the ship, the sea, the time, or the money. I dreaded the people. I didn’t want to feel…

  • Dreaming of a Spring awakening

    This winter has been sluggish. I always struggle in the grey, dark days to find meaning and purpose. I get up and read. Slowly going through the motions of the day, I long to be outside and for sunshine. It is hard to be motivated when hibernation seems the best option. And so I dream.…

  • The Mother Road: Travel Goals

    Standing under the sign that signals the beginning (or the end) of Route 66 on Santa Monica Pier, I feel the excitement and anticipation that a great road trip always brings. We are in Los Angeles to help my our daughter and son in law make a cross country move to Chicago. So for the…

  • The agony and ecstasy of air travel: Travel Goals

    I have a love hate relationship with airlines. I love to travel. There is nothing that can beat the feeling of being on a jet that is taking off and knowing that your next stop will be halfway around the world. I love having the time to watch multiple movies that I somehow never got…

  • Friends Old and New

    I am sitting in my pajamas after just talking to a friend on the other side of the world. In seconds, we were connected and speaking as if we were sitting right next to each other. A pleasant conversation to end her day and to begin mine. Meanwhile, I received a social media text from…

  • When the Rope Breaks

    After a very long day, I came out to the yard to sit in my hammock. It has been an exhausting day. I sat down and kicked back into the recesses of the netted hammock that is usually a great comfort. Seconds later as I was slamming derrière first into the asphalt, I realized that…

  • Peace be still

    The words sound simple and joyful. Peace be still. It is peaceful here. The birds are singing. The sun is shining. I am sitting by a campfire and in the stillness of the morning, I am thinking of my beautiful aunts. They are all with the Lord. But today, they are also vivid in my…

  • Life is hard. God is good.

    The last few weeks have been difficult; not because there is anything wrong in my life, only because I feel unsettled. Call it a physiological response or existential angst. Maybe it is the summer blahs. Perhaps it is living in what I like to call “the age of anxiety.“ It doesn’t really matter what it…

  • You Called

    Last night, just as I was getting ready for bed, you called. I was tired and I had to get up really early this morning. I didn’t mention any of that, because you called. Since you have grown and flown, these moments of insight into your life are rarified. Yes, I could call you and…

  • Christmas Magic

    As long as I can remember, in the few days before Christmas I am consumed by an unbearable desire to have everyone I love under one roof as soon as possible. I know that the family togetherness is imminent. But can’t come fast enough. I love the rituals of Christmas. I love the trees and…