When You Can’t Keep Up with all the New Experiences

This is an epic train journey that is slowly coming down the tracks to you . . . When you can’t keep up with all the new experiences in your life, it’s overwhelming, even when the experiences are good. For many, 2023 was a year of acceleration–after the pandemic, everyone seemed to be making up […]

The Day a Hot Air Balloon Landed Behind Our Balcony

When it roars outside on our balcony and flames shoot into the air, it’s not a dragon It’s a hot air balloon. The one we saw tonight was very low and we wondered if it would clear the trees, or the playground. Another friend came up the hill from the concrete cathedral, because she thought […]

Planting Seeds for Peace in the Ukraine

A package of seeds doesn’t cost very much . . . In the last few years, the world seems to be specializing in crises that are too big for one person or one country to solve. We could get angry or discouraged or depressed and sometimes I feel all of those things at once. Or […]

When Helping Feels like a Festival

Breathtaking beauty of Mayschoß, before the flooding. Being part of the hope is the best kind of vacation. Yesterday, I was a worked in a vineyard! My friend, Heike, found out where to help people who’ve had their homes and businesses flooded out in the Ahr valley. It’s an area with many small vineyards. A […]

One Dollar Glasses

The other day, I got my first pair of reading glasses. All of a sudden, reading, computers, knitting–even the fine print at the store–is SO much clearer. I’ve had regular glasses since the third grade, so you’d think I wouldn’t be surprised, but it’s easy to forget how much difference a new pair of glasses […]

If we start now, can we IMAGINE a really wonderful, peaceful 2018?

Imaginations are powerful, how are we using ours? Note: I originally wrote this post in 2017, but it feels just as relevant to me now.   The more I think about it, the more I wonder if we are spending our imaginations in the wrong direction. My husband suggested that it was about time for […]

Beauty and an Escape from Death

Note: This post was written in 2017, but it’s always a good reminder for me. Hopefully, it will help someone else. People look beautiful and shiny to me just now. When I look at families pushing baby strollers or see young couples deciding how to spend their money in the grocery store, or older couples […]

Life’s soundtrack should be big: Rossini Opera Festival makes a splash

The Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy was over the top! I love watching live orchestras and this one had 5 string basses. 🙂 And the audience was as fun to watch as the opera! I didn’t expect a fashion event. Of course people are well dressed at a fancy cultural event, but there was so […]

Forgiving yourself for what you did “on purpose”

Whack! The little girl smacked her tiny rainbow umbrella down on the restaurant’s marble table with an unexpectedly loud crack. No one was hurt; nothing was damaged–or even knocked over–but her eyes widened in horror. “But I did it on purpose!” A storm of tears followed and she hid her face against her mother. I […]

The Good Earth: International Gardens

In 2017, I participated in the local community garden for the first time. A new growing season is always a hopeful time for me. No weeds. The dream of the perfect garden unmarred. Since then, the garden has thrived. The Good Earth: International Gardens. Paydirt. The classic rich soil of the Rhineland. © Laurel Decher, […]

Hero at the Bus Stop

This year, my husband gave me a Page-a-Day calendar to learn Italian. Today’s page was a dialogue between two men at a bus stop, getting ready to go to work. One said his boss was nicer than his colleagues. The other said his colleagues were nicer than his boss. [*cough* We’re learning vocabulary here. Cut […]

Writing Gratitude Countdown (5): The Gift of a Deadline

This is the fifth post in my Writing Gratitude Countdown. (Find all the posts: 1. The Gift of Attention , 2. The Gift of Permission, and 3. The Gift of Hospitality, and 4. The Gift of Feedback, 5. The Gift of a Deadline.) I keep finding more things to appreciate about the writing life. It’s […]