Friends | Mixed Metaphors

Nov 12 2016

Posts

Red Letter Days (and Nightmare Nights)

Red Letter Day

Definition: a day that is pleasantly noteworthy or memorable

Like most of my left-leaning, liberal, tolerant, and progressive friends, family, and neighbors the days leading up to the presidential election were bright. In fact, in the words of friends Pat and Barb MacDonald of Timbuk 3 from their song, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” the lyrics echoed the optimism that though the race was close, most prognosticators predicted Hillary Clinton had over an 80% chance of reaching or surpassing the 270 electoral college votes needed to secure the election. It was a Red Letter Day that then turned into a nightmare night. As we all know now, she won the popular vote and lost the election. We were shocked and stunned. Continue reading →

Tagged Activism, Donald Trump, Electoral College, Ex-Girlfriend, Family, Feminism, Friends, Hillary Clinton, Madison, Nightmare Nights, Presidential Election 2016, Protest, Red Letter Days, Things Change, Wisconsin, Working Class

Aug 28 2016

1 Comment

Posts

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

“I watch the ripples change their size
but never leave the stream
of warm impermanence
so the days float through my eyes” — David Bowie, Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

The summer is beginning to wind down and autumn is right around the corner. I often muse about the changing seasons this time of the year and reflect on my life, time-hopping from the past to the future, then back to today. Though it’s common to look back at the preceding year on New Year’s Eve or look ahead to the coming year the next day, I usually follow the school year calendar and my annual staycation. Some habits are hard to break. Continue reading →

Tagged Ageism, Aging, Autumn, Change, Changing Seasons, Family, Friends, Loss, Love, Memoir, Moving, Rightsizing, Staycation, Summer, Things Change, Third Act, Time-Hopping

Jun 18 2016

1 Comment

Posts

A Grateful Daughter: A Father’s Day Tribute

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” — Jim Valvano

As my friends, family, work colleagues, and regular readers are already aware, I recently finished moving. I now have only one set of keys, and my material life resides in a single location for the exception of a dozen totes that a friend generously volunteered to store in her basement. Moving seemed like a never-ending process and I’m grateful it’s over and I can stop writing and talking about it (I will, I promise). I can now direct my energy to other things, which brings me to Father’s Day and the tragedy in Orlando at Pulse LGBTQ nightclub. You might ask, “How are these two subjects related?” Continue reading →

Tagged Coming Out, Death, Family, Father's Day, Fathers, Friends, Home, LGBTQ, Loss, Love, Memoir, Orlando, Pulse

Jun 04 2016

1 Comment

Posts

Another Moving Story II

“Home again; another journey ends. I’m home again and grateful. I sat at my desk, looked out my window on the world — or at least my neighborhood — and journaled. I immediately felt comforted by a familiar ritual as I reflected on the days that led to my arrival here.”

“Today I’ll unpack, find my bearings and my belongings. Everything will find its place again and everything will be okay. I’m home again.” — Excerpts from Moving Story III, June, 2013 Continue reading →

Tagged Family, Friends, Gratitude, Home, Journaling, Madison, Memoir, Moving, Personal Narratives, Solace, Trains

May 19 2016

Posts

Another Moving Story

“It’s just as hard to go back to a place you once left, as it is to leave it again.” ― Charlotte Eriksson

Now that I’ve created expectations I offer this disclaimer. This is not a moving story ― as in moved to tears or moved to laughter. I’m simply mixing metaphors ― that’s what I do. On the contrary, this story is about packing boxes and totes to schlep across town to my new home, after sorting through the ephemera of my life, then shredding, saving, or throwing away the paper trail. Yet, as I’ve recently learned during this experience, both tears and laughter took me by surprise and took me places from the past. Like an archaeologist exploring a lost civilization, I discovered orphaned relics and forgotten memories. Continue reading →

Tagged Atwood Neighborhood, Family, Friends, Home, Madison, Memories, Moving, Packing, Third Act, Unpacking

Jan 31 2016

4 Comments

Posts

The Loud Family Loses a Loved One

We Say Goodbye to Our Matriarch

First, a little background: In 1973 American TV audiences were introduced to a groundbreaking 12-part documentary series on PBS entitled An American Family featuring the Louds, an upper middle class family in Santa Barbara, California. This was considered the first reality TV series. Keeping with its irreverent tradition of satirizing American culture, Saturday Night Live in season four, episode six, created its own Loud family, starring Jane Curtin as Mrs. Loud, Bill Murray as Mr. Loud and their daughters, Gilda Radner and guest host, Carrie Fisher with supporting characters played by John Belushi, Dan Ayckroyd and Garrett Morris. Continue reading →

Tagged Brother, Death, Ethel Mae Lenzke, Family, Father, Friends, Funeral, Grandmother, Grieving, Home, Loss, Love, Matriarch, Mother, Racine, Sisters, Stories, The Loud Family, Wife

Dec 26 2015

4 Comments

Posts

Full Moon on Christmas Day: Part II

Christmas Present and Christmas Future

“Your life will be a great and continuous unfolding. You will come to know things that can only be known with the wisdom of age and the grace of years. Most of those things will have to do with forgiveness.” — Cheryl Strayed

This is Part II of a personal essay on the holidays. The subject of Part I was pre-holiday musings and reminiscing about childhood Christmas celebrations past. I’m grateful to my parents for their gifts to me, most importantly their love, nurturing, and support and for the delight I experienced on Christmas morning as a child when I saw the decorated tree and gift-wrapped presents.

Part II is also recognition that things change; we experience loss in our life as we age. Loved ones leave us, others die, and some traditions are more difficult to sustain. People move across country, move on from childhood to adulthood, and sometimes family members and loved ones create chasms too difficult to bridge. Continue reading →

Tagged AA, Christmas, Family, Family Traditions, Fathers, Films, Friends, Full Cold Moon, Full Moon, Holidays, Home, Matriarch, Memoir, Mothers, Movies, Relationships, Stories, Third Place

Nov 15 2015

3 Comments

Posts

The Power of Circles

“I get by with a little help from my friends.” — Lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Last weekend I attended a recovery enrichment workshop at Edgewood College presented by Fred Holmquist of Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s Dan Anderson Renewal Center. The experience was a powerful reminder of the role recovery circles have played in my life. Over the years I’ve sat in many circles in outpatient treatment, aftercare, 12-step meetings, and retreats. Yet this is simply one sphere of my life where circles of friends and peers have empowered me. Continue reading →

Tagged 12-Steps, AA, Activism, Anti-War Movement, Campfires, Civil Rights, Consciousness-Raising, Death, Family, Feminism, Friends, Lesbian, Power of Circles, Recovery, Second Wave of Feminism

Sep 20 2015

1 Comment

Posts

Pick a Metaphor: Life-Planning

The Three Boxes of Life
Whack-a-Mole
Juggling: When All the Balls Are in the Air

As readers of my blog already know, I like to mix metaphors. Today I introduce the first installment of another Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! series entitled, Pick a Metaphor. In this series I will choose a topic and look at it based on a number of metaphors. What I have found in my own life is that sometimes the metaphor I select to describe an issue I’m facing sets the tone of how I will think and feel about it. Continue reading →

Tagged Death, Family, Friends, Home, LGBTQ, Life-Planning, Madison, Metaphors, Racine, Relationships, Retirement, Third Act, Work, Working Class

Sep 06 2015

Posts

The Pleasures (and Lessons) of a Staycation

“A vacation that is spent at one’s home enjoying all that home and one’s home environs have to offer.”— Urban Dictionary

“You don’t have to go far to travel.” — Me

It’s that time of year again when September arrives and I extend the Labor Day holiday by taking my annual Staycation. While students return to school after their families unpack from vacation and pack those back-to-school backpacks full of brand new school supplies, I take a break from my day-to-day work routines and make my “to-do only if I want to lists.” Continue reading →

Tagged Autumn, Family, Films, Friends, Holidays, Home, Journaling, Journals, Madison, Movies, Racine, September, Staycation, The Changing Seasons, Wisconsin, Work, Writing

Mixed Metaphors

Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! – A place where words, this writer, and readers play together.

Tag Archives: Friends

Red Letter Days (and Nightmare Nights)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

A Grateful Daughter: A Father’s Day Tribute

Another Moving Story II

Another Moving Story

The Loud Family Loses a Loved One

Full Moon on Christmas Day: Part II

The Power of Circles

Pick a Metaphor: Life-Planning

The Pleasures (and Lessons) of a Staycation