Author: Iris Ruth Pastor

I’m going through a murky time.I’m restless – not sleeping well.I’m torn in too many conflicting directions.I have an over-abundance of choicesand no clear way forward.I’m wandering  without direction.Unwanted thoughts assault me. My brain craves predictability, routine and a state of equilibrium – I crave balance and steadiness and instead I get upheaval and uncertainty and cloudiness. So Continue reading

I love newspapers: I love the routine of them – some thrown strategically onto my driveway – some coming tucked into my mail box.And I love the ability to randomly rip out articles that grab my attention. And that love of the printed newspaper is actually how my column got started. When my youngest and fifth son Continue reading

I have a confession. Sometimes I can say the most tactless things – not fully realizing the effect my words have. A couple of months ago I came across this quote: I LOVE MY FRIENDS. I JUST WISH I DIDN’T HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME WITH THEM. I lightheartedly repeated the quote to some of my buddies Continue reading

I think we all have mixed feelings about the profound effect technology, apps, the Internet, Facebook, etc., have on our lives.  Sometimes, though, magic happens and it did on August 16, 2024 when I came across this beautiful poem written by a former classmate of mine. Thank you Judi Kipner-Wolf for allowing me to share your lovely Continue reading

I found it on Facebook – a one-hour candlelight concert held at the iconic Centro Asturiano de Tampa – a club opened in 1902 for Spanish immigrants and their descendants to socialize. (Those old, elegant structures powerfully draw me in.) Advertised as “A one-of-a-kind experience in a candlelit setting,” a four-string quartet from the symphony would be Continue reading

Faulty assumptions are mistaken or misleading suppositions. Now I DO have assumptions about grand-parenting that have proven to be very true: Regularly doling out unsolicited advice to your adult children on rearing their children is probably not a great idea. Ditto for hovering like a helicopter.   Another assumption: The only way to truly have fun and get super Continue reading

It was certainly a bad week. Not just for me, but for my poor mouth.Massive infectionFractured tooth needing to be extracted in pieces (OUCH!)A complicated root canal procedureAnd lots of ice packs I was away from my husband.I was bouncing between two of my adult kids’ houses. I was in a lot of unremitting physical pain.I Continue reading

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, butshorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more,but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but lesstime; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but lessjudgment; more experts, but Continue reading

Her name is Nicole, she is 40 years-old and I met her at a Dress for Success luncheon where my son Sam was getting an award. In between food courses and short speeches, we chatted.   Nicole was an “army brat” whose father was in the military. The family moved constantly until Nicole was a sophomore Continue reading

It was the first thing I saw when I walked into my kitchen early that morning.  Alone on the kitchen counter, a notebook-sized piece of paper caught my eye. It was an informal, hastily drawn chart I had made for myself the evening before so I could remember to take my newly prescribed meds for Continue reading