Wow. Such a variety of thoughts this week; some will make you smile while others will hopefully intrigue you and connect in some way to your life and thoughts. Enjoy.

Have you ever tasted a Portuguese tart? I have many years ago and it was delicious! It definitely lived up to its reputation. This is the sort of pastry that I will not attempt to make myself. When my children were little and I was a stay-at-home mom, I attempted to make pastry a bunch of times. It was an exercise in frustration: time and ingredients wasted. Finally, over time, I decided to focus on what turns out well for me: muffins, loaves, cookies and simple cakes.

Although I will not try to make them, maybe I’ll visit a Portuguese bakery and bite into one of these scrumptious morsels again soon. – Maria

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There is so much to say about this. First of all, I agree with what Jolie is saying. It continues to be my experience that difficult moments, or especially extended difficult periods, are what fundamentally shape us and teach us about ourselves. What level of resilience are we capable of? Is resilience a potentially unhealthy goal if overvaluing it lead us to cross over into burnout and other physical and emotional health problems?

Also, overcoming difficulties, which is, of course, what we all want to do, is not easy. There are many factors that determine our ability to overcome adversity including role models, our personalities, and our previous experiences with it; were they positive or not? What did we learn about ourselves as a result of them?

Finally, I am a firm believer in cliches. Probably not as part of the analysis in a high school English essay, but I believe that words, phrases, old sayings, become cliches because there is truth, wisdom, that can be applied to our lives to help us, sustain us and warn us. – Maria

((( )))

Every day we have so many decisions to make, both big and small: about what to wear, how to answer a text, who to call, or who not to call, what route to take, the tone of my voice, what show to watch, what to eat or which project to focus on.

Life is full of decisions that are intertwined and often we don’t understand the connections until long after the fact. Looking back from a point in the future we can begin to see how certain decisions were chained together and lead to a bigger change in our lives.

In my own life, there have been times when I’ve let this idea get burrowed in by head and I’ve gotten stuck, unable to make a decision about what to do. Because decisions have consequences and consequences can be long lasting.

How do you break out of that feeling of being unable to make a decision? – Cris

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Shadow play. They make us look like ghosts. Fleeting and transparent.

Do you believe in ghosts? I took a tour of Dover Castle in England many many years ago and the guide told us some stories about ghosts in Dover Castle. Now the castle was used in the Second World War for top secret military operations, communications and a hospital. The castle, which dates back to the 11th century, has seven floors that go deep down into the cliff. The tour guide told us stories of guests who had come to the castle to see where their uncle or grandfather or family member was working during the war and seemingly came face to face with their ghost.

My mother has told the story of two of her friends seeing their deceased husbands in their homes, the homes they shared with their husband for many years. One friend seemed to take it in stride, however, the other became rather angry and told her husband’s ghost to never come back again. It was too much for her to see him and know he was not alive.

Do you believe in ghosts? If not, what are these people seeing? – Cris

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This rocking chair brings back lots of memories. When I first began my motherhood journey, it had pride of place in the bedroom we used as a nursery. Do people still have rocking chairs in their homes? I went online and saw that they do still sell, although they are generally more comfortable than mine was. I don’t like many of the more modern designs as they look like armchairs whose legs have been replaced by rails. Personal preference . . .

I came across this photo and was immediately transported back to the years when my children were babies. I spent hours, especially during the night, rocking back and forth, struggling to stay awake, softly singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep.” Also, “Rock a Bye, Baby,” which I did not use as often because the lyrics are nasty. By the time my daughter was born, I had bored myself with those traditional lullabies and instead sang “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” a ballad by Frank Sinatra. I was out of key, as usual, but babies do not critique their mothers’ voices. She didn’t know the difference, but I thought it was funny. Maybe that’s where her appreciation of Sinatra began . . .

Do you have a rocking chair? What were your strategies for comforting your children in the middle of the night? – Maria

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