Author: Iris Ruth Pastor

My son and his 15-year-old daughtercame to visit my husband and me.And when they left 3 words did I feel:Blessed. Grateful. And Lonely.  I wanted to keep a piece of my granddaughterclose – with easy access.So I asked her for her favorite song playlist.And hit upon great success. Why? I could understand the singers’ words –relate to Continue reading

I found my first cousin Jack from a DNA search and my life has never been the same since that moment in time. Jack is my late mother’s first cousin. His mother and my grandmother were sisters. I lost my very beloved grandmother 71 years ago when I was just seven years old. Finding Jack Continue reading

It started on Monday night, February 16th. Up pops a message from one of my elementary school buddies – one with whom I keep in loose, but regular, contact.  “Look at the treasure I just found!” she texted. Directly underneath her brief text was this picture: My mother is on the far left and I am on Continue reading

I called it the “Good Old Days”. I was referring to the time in my life when my parents and in-laws and various other relatives were still alive and well and my kids were still at home.  It seemed to go on forever – those exhausting periods of parenting when there was too much to do, Continue reading

There is a concept which Swedish people embrace as the key to a harmonious life. It is called Lagom – defined as the art of finding perfect balance between too much and too little. (It’s a little foreign to me since I tend to revel in abundance – kinda if some is good, more Is Continue reading

The Salvation Army drop-off center at 10 AM on a recent Monday morning was lined with six cars in front of me and within five minutes three more pulled up in back of me. Do they too know “the secret” to living a serene and well-ordered life? My mom knew “the secret”. She made Marie Continue reading

It’s 9 pm and I’m standing in front of my refrigerator rapturously devouring a rich piece of chocolate cake, wondering what I can eat NEXT.I’m Not Hungry.But I AM baffled. Why does this incessant, compulsive night eating keep happening?  Like me, are you a nighttime eater?If you are, have I got a read for you.If you Continue reading

I met a guy the other night after attending a political event. He told me shortly after he retired that he had a nervous breakdown. I started laughing and leaning in conspiratorially, I flippantly retorted, “Yeah, I have one of those quite often these days as I approach the winter of my life!” “No,” he Continue reading

Next to the least used commode in my house sits a little wicker basket overflowing with 3” by 5” little books – most of them touting verbiage like Life’s Little Instruction Book or Life Lessons for Mothers.  Not only do I hardly ever use that particular commode, but when I do, I fail to even causally glance at Continue reading

I’ve been making myself unhappy for quite a long time. Why? Because I couldn’t manage to move forward from a past image of myself. I couldn’t stop viewing myself through the same old lens. I was stuck. And what exactly was that past image? It was of a young, busy, involved mother of five sons – five sons who were Continue reading