Welcome to My Notebook!
They say that writers have to write every single day to improve their skills, and that is what I attempt to do with my Morning Pages. Some of the daily entries lead to something bigger, other times they warrant little more than a yawn, and more often than not they belong in the trash. But, either way, each morning one sentence is put down after the other, and eventually, entire paragraphs are formed. I have decided to share a few of my favorite entries here and hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
I recently realized that I can’t remember how old I am anymore. When the question comes up, my eyes open wide and I freeze, wracking my brain for the answer. But the number is never there, not even on the tip of my tongue, and I end up staring blankly into space for 20 minutes, wondering if I have early-onset Alzheimer’s.
I turn 43 today. It’s interesting and uninteresting at the same time. I still feel strong and fit, but I hear my mom when I sneeze or bend over to pick something up. I also have a harder time remembering how many candles should be on my birthday cake, much less how old I am on any other given day. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I celebrated turning 40?
Happy Tax Day Birthday! For most Americans, April 15th is Tax Day. For me, it’s Sam’s birthday. Every year when it arrives, I find myself smiling and thinking of him, instead of making sure I’ve paid my taxes. It’s funny how you can remember some random things forever when they fall on significant dates, even a birthday you celebrated over 20 years ago. On most days, I can barely remember my...
I’d been blissfully ignorant of “it” until my first trip to Las Vegas. That was nearly 20 years ago, but I distinctly remember tossing a Bellagio-branded Wet-Nap® aside as I slid into an empty seat in front of (yet another) slot machine. As I gave the handle a satisfying crank, all the Wet-Naps I’d seen lying around started drifting through my mind. I wondered why, of all things, casinos chose to...
It’s been too long since I’ve shared something from my notebook. So, in honor of Halloween, I dug through my archive to see if I had a good scare to share. I hope you enjoy one of my favorites. Happy Halloween! ~ hvh
A friend recently told me that she thinks we’re all given a bucket of joy and that it’s gone forever when it runs out. But I think it’s a self-defeating concept to believe everything is handed to us like that.
It’s with great sadness that I share the passing of our dear friend, Heidi Van Heel.
Heidi was a lot of things to many people. She was a trusted confidant, a Google-certified physician, and an enthusiastic drinking companion. But, she was also a dedicated health and fitness aficionado who worked tirelessly to fight the perimenopausal spread of her ass.
And that’s exactly what he did. After 14 years together, he died in my arms on a Saturday afternoon in March. Then I had to hand him over to someone else to take care of his final arrangements. That had almost been the hardest part – putting the furry, little body that I knew so well into someone else’s car. For 14 years taking care of him had been my responsibility, and I’d been completely...
Walking in the cold
With an old dog who can’t see
And eats yellow snow.
“I don’t know if you know this, but everyone is laughing at you behind your back,” she said gathering her books to leave. “I just thought you should know.”
A gray-haired old man cradled a gray-haired old dog as he shuffled down a gray cement sidewalk on a gray overcast day.
The gray-haired old man stooped to examine a purple flower forcing its way up through a crack in the gray cement sidewalk.
I’m celebrating a milestone birthday this year. I’m told that it’s a milestone because it has a zero in it, but it doesn’t feel especially extraordinary to me. According to my family and friends, this magical milestone means that my vision will soon deteriorate along with my confidence in driving at night followed unceremoniously by hearing loss (which I suspect my husband will secretly look...
