Funologist

  Old war wound Holding the perimeter on my health is a lot like holding the perimeter on my lawn. If I want to keep my lawn from being swallowed up by the surrounding forest, I need to maintain it. With the right tools. I happen to enjoy this type of physical, outdoor, labor. Taking…

  I mowed the lawn today. The mower choked its way slowly through the chest-high grass, hidden saplings, and lush wildflowers.  If left unattended for an entire summer, our lawn’s perimeter would disappear. Within five summers, our homemade house would be camouflaged by the surrounding forest. Mother nature is always busy filling in the holes.…

I have a simple mind. Full of everything I need to be well. All I have to do is use it. Whenever my younger sister Marcelle wants to spur me to action, all she has to say is; “Well, I know you can’t do it, but. . .  " and with childlike enthusiasm, I spring…

By Sandra Dee Owens I have no tolerance for pain. I am thin-skinned and weak-kneed. Whenever I experience mental, emotional, or physical pain, I want out, ASAP. When younger, I looked to and expected others to heal me. Though a great backup resource, outward  is no longer where I look.  Fortunately, I have the tools…

By Sandra Dee Owens Bingy I love foreign detective stories. Staying up each night later than planned, I used to binge-watch oodles of episodes. Cuddling up with my cell phone in bed was my favorite part of the day. Before a series even ended, I hunted for a new one with enough seasons to ensure…

By Sandra Dee Owens We don’t have to follow the first voice A woman passed through my line at the grocery store with a brightly colored box I knew so well. Without hesitation, I jostled my cart and went searching for the Pop-Tart aisle. That first voice had whispered in my ear, “oooooh, Pop-Tarts, have…

Forward part 2: Flip your dial from ‘stuck’ to ‘forward’ By Sandra Dee Owens Have you ever noticed when one negative emotion (i.e., resentment, anger, fear, guilt, anxiety, or the ‘should’ gremlin), comes to call, they all jump in? It’s like a pig pile of yuck. And suddenly, without your consent, you’re trapped in an…

By Sandra Dee Owens What direction is your dial set to? There is one thing I do in order to improve anything in my life. One single thing. I keep moving forward. I love how simple that is. But as we all know, simple is not the same as easy. No matter how sucky things…

Asking the hard question: Are we better together or apart? Years ago, when our children left our nest to build their own, my husband and I sat down and asked ourselves a very hard question. Are we better together—or apart? Our marriage is, and always has been strong, solid—and scrappy. It seems that two people…

By Sandra Dee Owens What is your birth language? I asked my husband if he wanted to get divorced and return to being boyfriend and girlfriend like we were 40 years ago. My words sent him scrambling outside to the timber frame he was cutting for our new garage. I have to admit I took…

By Sandra Dee Owens Every summer, my skin was covered in ooze. My immune system’s response to the itchy rash of blisters caused by southern Vermont’s most prolific crop—poison parsnip. Minutes after mowing, weed trimming, or hiking, the skin on my hands, arms, chest, torso, and legs would become hot and itchy, a precursor to…

An easier word to swallow By Sandra Dee Owens Years ago, while contemplating the things I found impossible to resist, I looked up the word addiction. According to Merriam-Webster addiction is "a compulsive, chronic, physiological, or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing…

An easier word to swallow than addiction? About 10 years ago, while waiting in line at the grocery store, someone walked past me holding a box of Pop-Tarts. Frosted with sprinkles. Experiencing an instant craving, I got out of line and hurried to the Pop-Tart aisle with the urgency of a forgotten food staple. Since…

By Sandra Dee Owens Once upon a time, I was 52 years old. One morning, as I bent over to sock a raised foot, I noticed I was less steady than the day before. And just like that, I felt a new and lesser level of balance try to insert itself into my life. I…

By Sandra Dee Owens At some point in my life, I decided to go solo. I did not get divorced, or leave my friends, family, or home. I simply started minding my own business. While raising our daughters in my 20s and 30s, I had neighborhood girlfriends also raising children. We would frequently walk, hike,…