Life

Consecrated Virgin

A friend of mine shared her faith story with me today. I knew some of it, but not how the whole thing came about. She was raised in a family that didn’t practice any faith, but also didn’t discourage her and her siblings to explore their options. The town she grew up in was heavily […]

Such Generosity

I was telling my brother all about my trip today and updated him on the family members I visited. I thought about how each person lives their lives in an ordinary way, yet are caring, supportive, and making a difference in the lives of those around them. One cousin is a devout Catholic and has […]

Surprises Everywhere

As I have been travelling, I have just been picking hotels that seem convenient along the way. Last night I stayed in a place that was a block away from a major river with a metal arched bridge going over it. I walked over at sunset and was blessed with an amazing view. This morning […]

Drawbridges

Today I went out and about with my cousin’s wife. We started out looking at all the stores near the waterfront. I’m not really a big shopper, and as we walked, I just wanted to be closer to the water. So, we made our way down. We walked along the nice sidewalks and piers. A […]

Similarities and Differences

Today I had another wonderful day with relatives. My aunt had mentioned that she was behind on putting flowers around her house. So this morning, we went to the flower stores where she picked up a beautiful yellow hanging begonia that caught her eye and a small pot of red geraniums. Every summer, my mom […]

Positive Outlook

I continued my travels today and made it to my aunt’s house. We went to dinner with 2 of her sons and got caught up on the family news. I had not seen one of the cousins in many years. He has been through tragedies, family struggles, and health issues. But through it all he […]

More Cousins

Today I got to spend time with more cousins. We went to a local restaurant and I was proud of myself for trying some foods that I never had before. And it was delicious. We also went to a local town fair that was small but fun. Their son met us there with his girlfriend […]

Back Again

Today I spent time with one of my second cousins and family who I reconnected with last year. He spent quite a bit of time with my dad working on the cabin back in the day. We swapped more stories of the place and people who he met up there. When we were together last […]

Cousin Connection

When my dad was 18 years old, he entered a beautiful silhouette black and white photo of his sister into a photo competition. It won an “Honorable Mention”. The framed  photo along with the ribbon has been traveling with our family ever since. It was also displayed at different photo competitions and exhibits as shown […]

Saying Goodbye

I went to Mass this morning in the town where my family moved. It was a cute little modern church that is bilingual. I went to the English Mass. Afterwards, there were tables full of packaged baked goods and everyone was taking one, so, I took a box of donuts. After checking out of my […]