Speaking to My Daughter Every Sunday, No Matter Where I Travel, Keeps Me Connected to Family

Daily writing promptDescribe a positive thing a family member has done for you.View all responses My youngest daughter and I talk every Sunday. I have always found a way to. speak to her, no matter where my husband and I are traveling. That’s why when we arrived in Portugal last Thursday, and I could not... Continue Reading →

Hamburger Heaven in Porto, or I Came All This Way for a Burger?

Porto, Portugal, April 10, 2026 We came to spend the night with the grandchildren and their parents before we started our explorations. They suggested a hamburger festival.It was amazing to see so many burgers, but some were over the top. The grandkids and their mother are vegetarians, so they found burgers they could eat, and... Continue Reading →

Happiness Makes the Soul Rejoice in Being Alive!

Daily writing promptWhat are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?View all responses I don’t think we are meant to always be happy, but it would be absolutely wonderful if we were. That would mean that everything brings us happiness. Yet, without the sadness of trials and tribulations, we would not be able to comprehend... Continue Reading →

In Five Days, the Next Adventure Begins

Lisbon, Portugal, 2024 I searched for my birth certificate yesterday. I had forgotten that it was so torn up, but I don't have time to send for a new copy. We leave for Portugal in five days! We are scouting for a home there, to have more time with the youngest grandchildren, so we plan... Continue Reading →

Pay It Forward as a Way to Say Thank You

Someone had been leaving fresh flowers every day on his wife’s grave, and Roger was determined to find out who and why. It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize that others had loved her, but he needed to understand what this daily homage meant. Had his wife taken a lover, and he was too busy working to... Continue Reading →

If It Takes More Than Five Hours, Let’s Fly!

Daily writing promptYou’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike? View all responses I used to love long car trips with my husband. In my childhood, we never had a car, but my best friend did in high school. I enjoyed gassing up her dad’s light blue 1964 Impala and driving... Continue Reading →

Love Isn’t Guided By Biology Alone!

It had never entered Richard’s mind that his son was not his own blood. As he watched Aiden wake from the coma, Richard felt such gratefulness that their prayers had been answered. He was still seriously shaken to discover that the child he loved dearly was not his biological son, as he had thought. His... Continue Reading →

Moving to Europe and Leaving My Family Will Be Hard, But I Want to See the World

Daily writing promptWhat is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?View all responses Last year, when I told my daughter that my husband and I planned to move to Portugal this year, I thought she would tell me not to go, that, as the matriarch of the family, I was needed.... Continue Reading →

A Black Doll in a Blue Gown Helped Me Believe I Was Beautiful, Too

One of the few Christmases I remember in my youth was the last one before my mother moved to New York to look for work. I must have been about 6 or 7. I had only seen white dolls, but my sister and I awoke to find two beautiful Black dolls, dressed as though they... Continue Reading →

As the Matriarch, My Mission is Encouragement and Faith Building

I am stunned to know that I am now the oldest generation of my family. When I was younger, I liked sitting beside or on the lap of the older women and listening to them gossip about their children and neighbors, while passing along to me, maybe unknowingly, behaviors that were unacceptable or unglodly. I... Continue Reading →

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