Marie Manucherhi's Radio program June 2nd

I will be a guest on Marie Manucherhi's radio program--- Where Energy & Medicine Meet on June 2nd! Her show is on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon until 1pm PST. It will be awesome. I have attended her evening sessions and they are always fabulous. Can't wait to spend time with her in the studio and chat! Marie archives her programs on her website at www.energyintuitive.com. So, if you miss the interview LIVE you can always go listen to it later at your convenience.

Also planning to sign books on Maui when I am there in mid-May. I will keep you all posted when I get confirmed dates and times. There is a Borders in Kahului and a Barnes and Noble in Lahaina. So excited!

Ciao!

Life is interesting!

My life has been a constant ebb and flow of drama...intrigue...humor and of course sadness. Sparky's passing was peaceful and sad yet knowing that she is having the best time on the other side of the rainbow bridge makes it a happy time too. I facilitated a two day grief workshop the weekend after Sparky departed. It was for bereaved parents whose children passed on from cancer. It was sobering to me as it always is at these retreats. But it helped me get my perspective grounded. Sparky lived to be 98...some of the children I learned about only made it to four. The newest parents to the sad little club of grievers were really raw but everyone who attended was struggling. It broke my heart to have to tell them that the holes in their hearts will never heal - they will just get used to the pain of their loss. It is a harsh truth one that I have learned first hand. I came out the other end relatively okay so I just hope I inspired them to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. That is what our kids want from us...so, if you know anyone who is grieving please give them a hug...tell them you are thinking of them... praying for them if that is your desire but please do NOT give them unsolicited advice. Be mindful of the words of encouragement you use...I heard so much anger and pain come from parents whose loved ones and friends made their pain worse by careless choices of words. Even if you have grieved the loss of a loved one - you cannot know what your friend or loved one is feeling...thinking...experiencing because each of us is an individual. We all see the world differently uniquely. Be mindful of that...

Sparky Galando's Passing

Helen "Sparky" Thelma Rassmussen Galando was my mom...not my birth mom but my mom just the same. My second mom...My sister Rita shared her with me as I shared my parents with her for most of our lifetimes. Sparky was called that because she was struck by lightning twice in one week! Can you imagine? It is funny because people always have a hard time believing it when told about it. Well, the story is extremely interesting but the part I want to share is the love she bestowed on everyone she met. She never met a stranger. And, she had the most incredibly positive outlook. Her middle years were robbed from her - spent in one mental institution or another and to hear her tell it, she was in coma for 27 years but none of that kept her down. She had the best laugh too. What a riotous sense of humor...she never complained, well, almost never. She proudly shared with everyone she met that she had been born in a tent in 1912. Yep, she lived to be 98 years old. She was coherent almost right up until the end too. She was surrounded by her loved ones and her passing was peaceful. But she won't be forgotten. I was so touched to hear her granddaughters and great grandchildren tell her how much they learned from her about not giving up and taking on challenges head-on and not taking life for granted. Those lessons will serve us all well...thankfully, my children included. They really did learn valuable lessons that most people don't get because they didn't have a Sparky in their lives. I am blessed that she was my mom and may she rest in eternal peace...her body anyway. As for her spirit, I have no doubt that she is dancing on the stars with the love of her life (Dad, Nick) and making up for lost time.

Book Signing at Sea Tac Airport Borders Has Changed

The Borders folks had to reschedule my book signing...so now, I will be there on February 18th at 9am. It should be a great morning since it is the beginning of the Presidents' Day weekend and some mid-winter breaks. If you are there please stop by and say "hi" to me.

Life is interesting isn't it? I am feeling a little down because my neighbor who lost his job several years ago and could not find a new one just lost his house. Yep, he is in the process of moving out and it just seems sad because he has been here longer than we have and the hood won't be the same without him. Dave is a wonderful man who has always been the friendliest neighbor we've had. I just pray that he will land on his feet and find that maybe it was a blessing after all. But, it does remind me of all of my friends who are out of work. Me included at the moment but I am fortunate that Steve's work is stable.

All news reports indicate that the economy is getting stronger but I wish it would hurry up. It is very scary right now for so many.

Then, there is the weird weather all over the world. Our friends in Brisbane were evacuated a few days ago and from the looks of this morning's newspaper photograph showing Brisbane under water it is a good thing they left. The weather in Brazil is flooding our NE is under yet another blizzard and my daughter just texted me that the road that she needs to travel to get to the other side of her island is under mud and closed until they get it cleaned up. We here in the Puget Sound region just had our third snowfall in as many months. We rarely get snow at all so this is weird and the rain has been so hard for the past several days that our basement is leaking again. It flooded last month!

Getting ready for a grief workshop at the beginning of February. That always makes me count my blessings in preparation for helping parents whose losses are raw. Good thing I am married to a clinician. That's all for now.

A reminder of how time flies....

Talk about a blast from the past! I received an interesting email from a young man who played soccer with Cory when they were young boys. In fact, Damien's dad was the coach during several seasons of play. And, Jim, the dad, was one of Cory's pallbearers. sigh. This young man is now the principal of a local high school. I cannot believe he is a grown up but to think that he is running a high school blew my mind. Life goes by way too fast. So, no real details but Damien indicated that he had a dream about Cory and coming over to visit at our old house in Lakeridge. So, when he awoke he had Cory on his mind but could not remember his last name. He also felt the compulsion to contact me. What a treat to hear from this young man and to know that he had not forgotten my son. It also appears that perhaps Cory felt a reason to connect with him. I am hoping to figure that part out. When I do I will post it here.

Apparently he is married with two small children. And his younger sister who played soccer with Brie is married with a toddler too. I am feeling old...it is also bittersweet to think that Cory should be here having babies too. Fate can be cruel. But, I am grateful for the time I was given. Cory was and continues to be a blessing to me.

Hau 'oli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!)

Well, the thread that was holding Malia here snapped and she is now staying with her maternal grandmother. Ten years of her living with us off and on was enough...we really did start to realize that we were protecting her too much and that now at 19 she needs to be responsible for her own destiny.

Keili came home but was delayed several days because of the Apple I-Phone alarm glitch that caused her to miss the scheduled flight. Then, she couldn't get another one for three days. Apparently the non-reoccurring alarm system failed for January 1 & 2. They should have known though because it didn't work when Daylight Savings happened. This was not something that Keili was aware of since Hawaii doesn't do Daylight Savings. Bummer! Well, she is home now even though for a short stay. We love having her here. She really energizes the house.

I am doing a book signing at the SeaTac International Airport on January 28th at 9am. I am thrilled and so grateful to my friend Erik Korhel for hooking me up. What a fun place to do a signing!

The last day and a half I have been un-decorating. We left them up so Kei could have decorations when she got here. Now it looks so bare! Glad to be sorting and packing them up though.

The New Year has given me the incentive to reflect on my many blessings. So many of my friends have been struggling with unemployment, rough relationships, deaths, and just plain stressfilled lives...I feel very fortunate to have the wonderful husband, daughters, friends, family members and doggies that I do. Thanks everyone for being so wonderful. And to my friends who are struggling - I love you and I am praying for you that your life will improve significantly this new year.

Made it through Christmas of 2010 Whew!

So, it has been a month since my last post. This blogging thing takes up more time than I had thought ahead of time. Christmas was great except that neither of my daughters was home for it. This is the first Christmas without them since they were born. Very weird!
My grandson was here so that was something! What a great young man he is becoming. Still so sensitive and sweet. His hair is wild and bushy but so him. I guess his dad didn't much care for it but hey, it's hair for goodness' sake! So, I have been receiving lots of hugs from him and trying to store some up for when he heads back to Maui next weekend. Christmas is always a time of reflection for me. Growing up without much in the way of happy holiday memories always makes me appreciate what I have now. We have a new daughter named Miranda who is just a delight. Malia is hanging on by a thread but it is really time for her to get on with her life and it is now starting to feel like we are enabling her to skate. Time for reality to strike I am afraid. We spent an evening with all of my brothers, most of their offspring, my sister Penny and her family and my sister Rita and her husband. That was a kick. Fifty people crammed into my house with good food, good drink and lots of chatter. Christmas Eve we spent with my sister Rita and her family including her 98 year-old mom Sparky. Sparky had just been given a port a cath the day before as her marrow has now shut down and is no longer manufacturing blood cells. But, by golly, Sparky is hanging in there. She is amazing! We call her Sparky because she was struck by lightning twice (one week a part) when we were about eight. She has the goodness and sweetness of a small child. Christmas morning we had some friends over for brunch...Doreen is from my years at KOMO...Lola is my friend whom I met through the Emerald City Jewels a now defunct women's group...she and I bonded during the time I helped her pack up our friend Phyllis Mayo's condo after her death a year ago. Then, my little friend Henry who died a month ago left behind a grieving mama, Lihua. I was so glad that she agreed to join us. It was nice to have them all here. Food again was fabulous! Then, we had dinner with Steve's parents and they invited a lovely German couple Michael and Carolina Berger whom we have shared holiday meals with in the past. It was a great time and we appreciate our many blessings. I hope you created great memories with your loved ones as well.