Category: Relationships

  • When my sons were young, I told them the story of Patrick, the penguin, who, even though he was poor, and a penguin, had the very best Christmas presence and he made a point to share it with everyone he knew who needed some Christmas cheer. My sons, not being able to read, didn’t understand…

  • Hanging on my kitchen wall is a little plaque given to me by my dear friend, John. He found it in a quaint Irish shop in Smithville and bought one for me and one for his wife, Rose. It reads, "Sharing a cup of tea with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent."…

  • Well, I missed my chance for a St. Paddy’s Day blog post in honor of my sainted dad, Eddie Clifford, but the magic of leprechauns that lived in his heart is not a one-day kind of magic, so today’s the day. I never met my grandfather, my father’s father. He hailed from County Cork, Ireland,…

  • As Sept. 29, the Feast of the Archangels, and Oct. 2, the Feast of our Guardian Angels, quickly approaches, I find myself reflecting back on the many, and unexpected, signs I have received over the last seven years from “my” angels. As Christians, we learn that we all have a Guardian Angel, given to us…

  • Hate is an ugly word, an ugly emotion and an ugly ideology.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It is the antithesis of natural law, the Ten Commandments and every teaching of Jesus Christ. It is responsible for murder and mayhem and the unspeakable torture and decimation of whole races. It is something I have rarely, if ever, written…

  • When my son, a father of two young sons himself, posted a Facebook photo of a little hand trying to push under a bathroom door, and the photo title was “They Will Find You,” I laughed out loud. As a mother of six sons it often seemed like there was never a day when a…

  • There is nothing my father enjoyed more in the spring than a visit to the local nursery. There I would watch him wander through aisles of colorful blooms and I could almost see the wheels of his brain spinning with wondrous plans for that summer’s garden. He would carefully choose a variety of plants, some…

  • During my visit to North Carolina for my granddaughter’s third birthday I had the chance to sit in the upstairs gallery of the gymnastic studio and watch this petite whirlwind and her classmates run, climb, tumble and spin their way to pure enjoyment. At several points during the class, when the instructor had assisted my…

  • On a recent fast food run, my son brought home a bag of tacos and more than a few packages of spicy condiments.  As I tore open a package I noticed the words: Sauce responsibly. I have to admit, I chuckled, having on more than one occasion been irresponsible with the jalapeno pepper sauce. Wow.…

  • Recently, during an extended time at home recuperating from a medical procedure, I whiled away a Sunday afternoon watching a marathon of Mario Lanza movies. I grew up with Mario Lanza, the renowned American actor, tenor and opera singer who was known as one of the great romantic performers of his time, because my mother,…