Elin Stebbins Waldal's Blog, page 6
November 1, 2014
Halloween is Over
Halloween is over. It’s over in the literal sense because it’s November 1st and it’s also over in the abstract sense because my three kids are all well past the ages where their costumes made my heart sing. We could hear them as they approached last night. Little feet slapped the sidewalk as if the speed […]
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October 15, 2014
My Happy Place, Wordless Wednesday
Inspired by my friend Lois who wrote about her Happy Place a couple of days ago I decided to do the same, only not through words. In celebration of “wordless Wednesday” I offer up a series of photographs to show you My Happy Place.
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October 10, 2014
Home
When I think of home–I don’t think as much about place–as I do about feel. What does being at home in my mind feel like? For me it boils down to two things, safety and love. Even though I have had times in my life where I was not at home with myself, or safe, […]
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October 8, 2014
The Everyday Last Day
What would it really be like to live as if every single day were your last. Every. Single. Day. In short, the everyday last day. When I left the house for a run this morning an article I had read in, The New York Times, about end-of-life-care, aptly called, The Best Possible Day, was still circling my mind. It […]
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October 3, 2014
The Sort of Grandmother
My minds hand tugs at the line between now and then, one hand feeds the other and I watch as the past moves into view. It was a rainy autumn day. Even now I can feel the fluttering beat of my heart as it kept time with the windshield wipers. The road ahead –like me– disappearing, reappearing with the pass of […]
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October 1, 2014
Forgiveness and Healing, One Doesn’t Prevent the Other
In her essay, Why I Reject Forgiveness Culture, author, Elizabeth Switaj, asserts that forgiveness is not a requirement to heal. Demanding that survivors of trauma forgive denies us agency in choosing how to heal.” Exactly. The prescription of forgiveness, as if it were the only way to access the path to healing, feeds into the notion […]
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September 27, 2014
New Name for Baby
What happens when you name your child, then change your mind about the name. Do you give your baby a new name? For some, the answer is yes. In my case, I was the baby. That’s right. For the first nine months of my life I was called by a different name. At birth I […]
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September 26, 2014
Two (Secret) San Diego Bridges
There is something magical about a bridge, the way it connects two areas, it’s as if it beckons for all who pass over to explore life on either side. On Wednesday my friend Ruth and I met in San Diego, then set out to discover two of the cities “secret” bridges, the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge and the Quince Street Bridge. My […]
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September 24, 2014
Dear Fear, I am breaking up with you.
Dear Fear, I am breaking up with you. It’s over. Seriously. I’m done. Pack up your self-defeating attitude and go. Thanks, Elin For years too many to count I have been riding shotgun to this thing called FEAR. Don’t get me wrong I am not afraid to use my voice, that’s a fear I thankfully overcame years […]
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September 21, 2014
The Domestic Violence Blame Game
Domestic violence is on a lot of people’s minds. In the past two weeks there has been no shortage of dialogue riddled with the, who did what to whom, whose fault was it and who ultimately needs to pay the price now. And all that talk leaves me wondering what will happen if the domestic violence blame […]
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