Broken Lives Matter

Our house closing draws nearer and nearer by the second. The date is set for Wednesday morning, and renovations to make it accessible for Mikel (and more comfortable for me) will begin that very day! The thought is thrilling and scary at the same time--as so many things in life are--and it sometimes feels like we'll never get everything into boxes before we make our quiet departure. Really though, despite the stress, and knowing that buying this house will put a considerable dent in our collective finances, Mikel and I are beyond excited. We have both always dreamed of having a home of our own and the amazing freedom that comes with it. Between packing we have gone through paint colors and talked about where we're going to place furniture. Last week I bought a tiny little red tea rose plant that I intend to train onto a trellis beside the garage. Sort of a symbol of who lives there; our song is "Red is the Rose"--the traditional Irish ballad. Indeed, if couples ha

Tonight, as with many nights lately, the stresses of my life all seemed to be bearing down on and squeezing me from all sides at once. Our lives have become so full of concerns and aspirations that I find it difficult sometimes to catch my breath, and easy to forget I'm not alone. The latest, most exciting news is that Mikel and I are buying a home together. This is the first of many things we can do together, but alone would have been incapable of doing. It's the fulfillment of a dream for both of us; we long to get out of the apartment we live in--rapidly shrinking as I bring in more of my things, and we buy more together. It has not been easy! Buying a house would ideally be a joyful time full of excitement and planning for the future. Not so for us, I'm afraid. There have been break-in scares while it lies vacant, surprise costs, inspections to schedule, appointments to set up (and wait for), and many times my eyes have snapped open in the middle of the night with

Welcome to the New Year, everyone! Every moment of it has held a special excitement for me. Following the especially passionate kiss as the ball dropped in Times Square, my heart has pounded a little bit faster each time I told myself that this is the year I will be getting married. And our special day will be on a Wednesday, the Celtic New Year's Eve of Samhein. And yes, to those of you not familiar with the ancient calendar, this is also known as Halloween A lot of people's eyes have widened when we told them this, accompanied by a sometimes shocked, often insensitive comment. Why this day? Because it is sacred. Not just to us because it is our wedding day, but because it is the one day of the Celtic Year when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. Those that have left you return, to celebrate the sloughing off of the old year's (or in our case the old life's ) drudgery and sorrow. The thought is powerful for me; my dad died not too many years ago; th