2009. Before our older daughter, Angie, died on April 27th, she expressed two regrets: she wouldn’t live to see her two children grow up, and she hadn’t traveled much. On our mid-October, two-week voyage from Fort Lauderdale, through the Panama Canal to San Diego, I found myself viewing the trip through her eyes.

By Jeanie Greensfelder
On a stress-filled day driving between eucalyptus trees, lyrics popped into my head, “You’re in the magic zone.” Entering Montana de Oro, the day’s concerns faded and my sense of wonder bubbled up. The brisk breeze, stunning rock formations, and steady ocean waves opened a timeless reality.
When a bunny paused on the trail I felt like Snow White, expecting animals and plants to converse with me. The rabbit told me that I thought I knew the world, but I didn’t know anything about her. Then she disappeared into …

Last evening, I spied my husband wistfully staring into one of my bathroom drawers, still stuffed with various feminine hygiene products. “Ahem…” I cleared my throat. He looked hazy. “What are you doing?” I wanted to know.
“Oh nothing,” he sighed, “Just remembering the good old days.” I miss those days too: a little cramp here, some zits along my jaw line, and breasts more tender than a slow-cooked hen—all the while being controlled by Lucifer himself. Good times, good times…

Are you stressed out? Feeling unglued? How many of your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members are ‘coming undun’? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is… far too many!

It is a distortion, profoundly disloyal, to picture the human being as a teetering, fallible contraption, always needing watching.

By Jeanie Greensfelder
On an overnight visit with my baby granddaughter Julia, I pampered her, anticipated what she might want and gave it to her. Exhausted when I got home, I wanted my own bouncy chair, a big wind-up swing, someone to fix my meals, sing me to sleep, and carry me on demand.
I noticed my grown-up substitutes: a recliner chair, a rocker, comfort foods, bedtime music, hugs or cuddles, and massage.
As a psychologist, I know that the need for mother is ongoing. Not from our parent, but the healing mothering …

By Jill Turnbow
Mother’s Day is not so much a celebration for me as it is a reminder of how Karma can bite you in the behind. I’m not a mom myself, so I can merely spend the day reflecting on the memories of my own mother, who has now been gone for many years.
My mom was an “older” mom, being 36 when I came along. So in my prime mocking years, my Mother was the age I am today. As a teenager, my Dad and I found my Mother to …

By MaryAine Cherry
I noticed when I would call home that Dad answered the phone now, and I didn’t hear Mom wanting to know who it was like she used to. I always talked to Mom and not so much to Dad. I thought the change was because Mom had a hard time hearing with the phone, but she was really just slipping away: when visiting conversations became misunderstood and lost any flow that took place when each person clearly heard the words.
I moved back to SLO to be closer to …

What’s the sound of a thud on a public sidewalk if no one sees, hears, or pays attention to the body lying on the floor?