Phyllis Cole-Dai's Blog, page 4

A Lesson from Rachel’s Table

“You feel a little tighter today than normal,” Rachel says, softly. Yeah, right, I think. As if I haven’t noticed. Rachel is my massage therapist. I typically book an appointment with her every month to help...

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Two Stones of Goodbye

In my dream, I’m visiting a dear friend whom I don’t often get to see. Each hour of our time together is precious.

As our reunion is nearing its unwelcome end, we hear a soft knock on the door. Answering, we find Katie, an itty-bitty angel, not even five feet tall. In waking life, I know her as a woman in her late eighties, a mother of twelve, a longtime hospital chaplain, a lover of the arts. Her short-term memory has turned into a sieve, too holey to hold much of anything anymore. But her heart remains a huge earthen bowl, capable of holding the world.

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FAQ from Here

I’m so grateful for the outpouring of well wishes during my illness! Know that I’m writing this with a smile and increasing levels of energy. What follows is a list of “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) regarding my health, along with my answers. Thanks for your understanding as I continue to recover.  

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Reminders to Remember

A friend shows me a beautiful potted mum. Its rich orange-red buds have burst open with vibrant sprays of sun-yellow at their center. The plant—of a variety called “Autumn Sunset”—is simply gorgeous. “The garden center...

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The Naughty House—and Other Stories We Tell

This morning I delivered Jihong to the Sioux Falls airport, an hour south of us, for the first leg of an overseas business trip.
As he’d prepared to leave home, a strange sequence of problems bedeviled our household appliances:
My laptop died.
Our coffeemaker died.
Our hot water heater died.
Our gas fireplace died.

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Less Is More

On September 4, Jihong and I delivered Nathan to college for his sophomore year. An hour after we unloaded his stuff at the dorm, Nathan auditioned on his cello for a seat in the symphonic orchestra, a premier touring group comprised of highly skilled student-musicians, most of them majoring in music.

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Lay the Hammer Down

Imagine yourself holding a hammer.

Now, strike your hammer against a big pane of tempered glass.

Watch the glass shatter into thousands of crystalline pieces, dropping all around your feet.

Hear the initial crash of their fall. Hear the gentle tinkling in the silence that follows, as bits of glass sink and settle.

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Of Poets and Moss Piglets

Eden is nine years old. Her family lives across the street from Annette Langlois Grunseth, a dear friend of mine who, in her seventies, is a beautiful ball of energy.

Eden and Annette have turned into a dynamic duo. You see, Eden, a fourth grader, wants to be a writer someday. And Annette just happens to be an award-winning author and poet.

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A New World Opens When We Show Up

In the July 10 edition of Staying Power, I told you about “Humanity Present,” an opportunity for shared, silent gazing that I intend to offer in a public setting, here where I reside. Planning for...

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Where the Growing Things Are

One wintry day, long ago, I had the privilege of visiting with a woman I’ll call Rose. Ninety-five years old, she was recovering from a broken hip at the home of her daughter, a good...

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