Old and New

Old and New

My battered but faithful body, my new employee badge, my daughter’s lunch pail, my boot-cut blue jeans – I might as well have been a bride walking down the aisle with my old and new, my borrowed and blue. Though, instead of an altar at my destination, I...
Returning to Seattle

Returning to Seattle

I’m heading up to Seattle tomorrow. My daughter, Martina, is starting a master’s program at Seattle University and I’m going to help her get settled into her new apartment. I am so excited for her!  She has worked extremely hard to get to this point...
Never Too Late

Never Too Late

“I used to play the violin” is a refrain I hear often. It is usually spoken to me as I greet concert-goers after a performance, and is frequently followed by two additional thoughts – one that looks regretfully to the past (“I wish I had kept at it”) and one...
Counting by Letters

Counting by Letters

I went swimming this morning at the YMCA. I don’t swim every day but boy does it feel great to start the day out this way. I’m going to be heading to Italy tomorrow so I wanted to get one last swim in before my trip. I’m not an avid swimmer. In fact, I don’t actually...
Becoming Nadia

Becoming Nadia

When I first saw Nadia Comaneci compete in the 1976 Olympic games I knew right away that I too wanted to be a gymnast. I went to sleep at night with images of Nadia’s routines playing over and over in my mind. I dreamed of doing aerial cartwheels, back...