Paw Prints on the Glass
This meme reminded me of a story in I Chose You. People ask me all the time about my favorite story from the book. I don't have one, I truly don't. But I do have several that really tug at my heart. Maybe it's because I know the person who shared this with me, but this always makes me cry a little. Paw Prints on the Glass “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” — Charles de Gaulle I have a friend who lost her long-time best buddy. He lived for nearly eighteen years, and she is devastated. She told me that she dated a few losers, got married, divorced, and finally found the guy of her dreams. Her guy was different than any she had spent time with in the past. He was loyal, quiet, and loved his routine. He was by [...]
The Red Cape
My son’s anniversary is coming up. There were many years when his father and I could only talk through attorneys, but eventually we each settled into our messy lives and moved forward. Nicholas married a girl from Wisconsin and so all of the Hawaii family arrived in the dead of winter for the wedding. January 2 in Wisconsin is typically cold and that year it was zero degrees but at least there wasn’t much snow as I remember. Yes, I wore open-toed sandals. A few months before the big event we had a dinner at our home. It was an interesting guest list including my current husband, Gary, my two sons, their father, their father’s former girlfriend and the mother of his daughter who was also there, and their father’s current girlfriend. But despite the unorthodox gathering by most people’s standards it worked and we laughed and talked and shared [...]
Hank Doesn’t
Earlier this year my book I Chose You came out and it's been well-received. I love that forty-forty people shared their stories with me about their special rescue pup. Yestersay my friend shared this status on her Facebook page.As a tribute to Kareen and Hank here's her story from the book. I Chose You, Imperfectly Perfect Rescue Dogs and Their Humans is available at Amazon.com. Thank you to Kareen for letting us to meet Hank. "Attention Hank Lovers: It is with deep sorrow I inform you that Hank left this earthly life on the morning of Christmas Eve. Hank was the epitome of unconditional love. He was strong, resilient, a big hit with those who encountered him during our many walks, and so very loyal. He loved me like no other creature on this earth, a love I did not deserve. Jeff and I were with him till the end." [...]
The Cereal and Milk Miracle
This has not been the best of years, but it certainly has not been the worst. This is a story that happened decades ago, but as people are finding it harder to afford food for [...]
A Time for Prayer
Earlier this year I spoke to the city council at the final meeting before the warming shelter in our town finally got everything in place to build the new shelter around the corner from my [...]
The Work of Christmas
Yesterday the Oshkosh Chamber Singers had two concerts. Unlike other groups I have sung with during Christmas, this was more of a religious service than one with a variety of songs ranging from traditional carols [...]