Gratitude | Mixed Metaphors

Mar 23 2024

Posts

The First Goodbye: Remembering Uncle Willy

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” ― Shannon Alder

“Some people, sweet and attractive, and strong and healthy, happen to die young. They are masters in disguise teaching us about impermanence. ― Dalai Lama

Today is St. Patrick’s Day as I begin drafting this reminiscence and tribute to my Uncle Willy. He was born William Roger Mason ― my mother’s favorite ―and beloved ― younger brother. Since I was child when I knew him, he will forever be remembered by his endearment, Uncle Willy. Continue reading →

Tagged Brother, Death, Family, Family Heritage, Family History, Family Stories, Father, Gratitude, Grief, Gun Violence, Home, Loss, Memoir, Mother, Oral History, Racine, Recovery, Relationships, Sisters, Suicide

Feb 05 2024

Posts

The Last Goodbye

We bid farewell to our father, grandfather, and great grandfather.

“Someday I’m going to write a book about our family!” — This writer as a defiant 16-year-old.

“I look forward to reading it!” — Our beloved mother

First, I haven’t drafted and posted new content for this blog since the end of October. The past three months have been a challenge and an unexpected journey. Though I’ve not written for my blog, I’ve done more writing during this period compared to what is typical. Most of it communication with bio and chosen family, journal entries, and social media posts. Continue reading →

Tagged Blatz Party, Brother, Chosen Family, COVID-19, Death, Elegy for my father, Family, Father, Friends, Funeral, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Internment, Loss, Love, Memorial, Memories, Mother, Obituary, Racine, Stories, Tag Team Sisters, Tribute to my father, Visitation

Sep 17 2023

Posts

Meditations on Mortality: Grief & Gratitude

Meditation definition (Oxford Languages) – a written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject.

Mortality definition (Oxford Languages) – the state of being subject to death.

“You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die, or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live.” — Joan Baez

As a person of a certain age — living my seventh decade — death and dying are on my mind.

Recently, there have been unexpected deaths of friends and loved ones, plus celebrities and artists in the public sphere, caused by accidents, deadly health crisis, unknown reasons, suicide, or overdose. When we’re unprepared for the sudden news, it’s both shocking and unsettling. For many of us, it’s a reminder of our own mortality. Continue reading →

Tagged 9/11, Celebration of Life, Chosen Family, Death, Death and Dying, Family, Father, Gratitude, Grief, Legacy, Life and Living, Loss, Love, Meditations, Memoir, Memories, Mortality, Mother, Sisters

Jun 27 2023

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Posts

Fractured, Not Broken!

Fractured Definition: having a crack or break: having suffered a fracture

Broken Definition: (of a person) having given up all hope; despairing

Resilient Definition: (of a person) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions

On Wednesday, May 17^th, I accidentally fell forward while attending the Opioid, Stimulants, and Trauma Conference sponsored by the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services at the Kalahari Resort and Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells and fractured the humerus of my right, dominant arm. Ouch! Continue reading →

Tagged Accidental Fall, Chosen Family, Family, Finding Our Way, Fractured-Not Broken!, Friends, Funny...Not Funny!, Gratitude, Harm Reduction, Hip Replacement, It Takes a Village, LGBTQ, OutReach Community Center, Pod Squad, Recovery, Resilience

Mar 04 2023

Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Endemic Edition

“When the physical threat of coronavirus subsides, as it surely will, we must address the impact to our mental health” — Luciana Berger

Endemic Definition: “…a disease or a condition, regularly found and very common among a particular group or in a particular area” — Cambridge Dictionary

Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic and we are the next stage of its evolution as the virus becomes endemic. It’s now living with us, and for some of you, living in you as Long COVID. To the best of my knowledge, I’m a Never COVID, COVID Virgin, or COVID Target. Yes, I’m still vulnerable, however, I’m grateful. It required three years of isolation including, social distancing, healthy practices, sacrificing time with friends and family, avoiding indoor restaurants, stores, and events, many of which gave my life meaning and pleasure. For some of the past three years, I worked remotely, and when in the office, masked. Continue reading →

Tagged COVID-19, COVID-19 Journal Project, Daylight Saving Time, Dispatch from the Hideout, Endemic, Family, Father, Films, Friends, Gratitude, Isolation, Pandemic, Pod Squad, Return to Life, Seasons, Spring Fever, Wisconsin Film Festival

Feb 05 2023

Posts

Celebrating a Decade of Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!

“Sometimes we become what we do. I became a writer by writing.”— Linda Lenzke, Blogger & More

“I write to discover what I know.” — Flannery O’Connor

Ten years ago in January, I took a WordPress class at Madison College. I decided that I wanted to take the next step as a writer: design, create, and launch a blog. I had been taking a series of reminiscence writing classes from a mentor and writing coach who would later become a friend and writing partner, Sarah White of First Person Productions. Prior to the classes, I had been writing for decades, poetry, spoken word monologues, stand-up comedy, and journaling for over 30 years. The reminiscence classes were a launchpad for my memoir, Perfectly Flawed, which I’m still writing, editing, and adding content as I live and write. Continue reading →

Tagged Blog, COVID-19, Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Films, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Home, LGBTQ, Love, Memoir, Memories, Mixed Metaphors Oh My!, Personal Narratives, Recovery, Relationships, Seasons, Stories, Writing

Jan 22 2023

Posts

It Takes a Village: Lessons Learned

“We are all in this together.” ― Hillary Rodham Clinton, It Takes a Village

“Accepting help is its own kind of strength.” ― Kiera Cass

February will be the 10^th Anniversary of my blog, Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! When I began designing it, I first needed to determine why I write. I saw it first as an extension of my journals, except I would invite others to read what I wrote. From the About section of the blog, Why I Write:

First, I consider myself a journalist, not the fact-checking, who, what, where, and when kind of reporter – but the gut-checking – why did this, or why is this happening to me or others and what can I learn from the experience – activist-essayist and memoirist. I keep journals, write memoirs and personal narratives as a record of my journey and exploration inward, allowing me to excavate and externalize aspects of my essence and experience, bringing them out of the shadows and into the light. Journaling and writing personal narratives is the process of first becoming aware, accepting and embracing what I have uncovered, followed by the charting of a new course. Continue reading →

Tagged Bio Family, Blog, Chosen Family, COVID-19, Friends, Gratitude, Hip Replacement, Holidays, It Takes a Village, Lessons Learned, Love, Pod Squad, Recliner, Recovery, Relationships, Sisters, Stories

Dec 31 2022

Posts

Intentions & The Lessons of Progress, Not Perfection

The Never-Ending To-Do List: Being & Becoming It’s the eve of the New Year, 2023. It’s 2:00 a.m. and my day is starting early as it has been recently while I recover from my hip-replacement surgery. My sleep schedule is turned upside down, so I’m up earlier than normal. It’s okay. I’m a morning person, the most productive time of day for me. I enjoy my three or four cups of joe as I logon to my laptop to see what’s happening in the world, and in my social media circle. Each year in September, I begin a new journal, and name it. This year’s journal is titled, To-Do List Confessions. The timing of each year’s new journal is the start of my late summer, early fall annual staycation. I take seven to ten days off of work. I usually make a ‘to-do if I want to list,’ a compilation of intentions, some creative, mostly writing projects, activities that feed my spirit like attending art galleries, films, coffee and brunch dates with friends and family, and completing long-overdue tasks for which I’ve procrastinated.

Continue reading →

Tagged Activism, Becoming, Being, COVID-19 Journal Project, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Harm Reduction, Holidays, Hotel Bar, Journaling, LGBTQ, Looking Backward, Pandemic, Personal Narratives, Progress Not Perfection, Recovery, Relationships, Staycation, To-Do Lists, Year-End-Musings

Dec 06 2022

3 Comments

Posts

Letter to Loved Ones (Just in Case)

“My life has not always been easy, but it’s always been worth the effort. I’ve not always possessed what I’ve wanted, but I always received what I needed, and most days it was simply the love of friends and family, and the ability to live comfortably in my own skin.” — from Dispatch from the Hideout: Letter to Loved Ones

For those who know me personally and/or read my blog or social media posts, I’m open and share freely about my personal life, some say I overshare. I write about my lived experience, often the mundane moments of everyday life, and sometimes I wax philosophically or poetically about our shared universal human experience. In essence, I’m an open book, and you choose whether to pick it up and read, or not! Continue reading →

Tagged Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Hip Replacement, Journals, Legacy, Letter to Loved Ones, Love, Obituary, Recovery, Tag Team Sisters

Aug 08 2022

3 Comments

Posts

For the Love of Movies (& Memories of My Mother)

“Ever since I was a child, films, like good books, served as windows to worlds sometimes unfamiliar or far away due to distance in time or space. Movies depicted characters both fictional and historical, unraveled mysteries or documented adventures; they always engaged my emotions and attention. Some films are more familiar and familial, memoirs or morality tales that act like mirrors to my lived experience, or road maps of my internal journey. I prefer non-fiction to fiction. Most fiction, in my view, is simply reality in disguise, employed to protect the innocent and the guilty. As a memoirist I am most interested in the stories we tell and the stories untold about our lives.” – Excerpt from Stories We Tell/Stories Untold

Continue reading →

Tagged Cinephile, Family, Father, Films, Gratitude, Joanne Woodward, Lesbian, Marriage, Memoir, Memories of My Mother, Mother, Movies, Paul Newman, Racine, Stories, The Last Movie Stars, Wisconsin Film Festival

Mixed Metaphors

Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! – A place where words, this writer, and readers play together.

Tag Archives: Gratitude

The First Goodbye: Remembering Uncle Willy

The Last Goodbye

Meditations on Mortality: Grief & Gratitude

Fractured, Not Broken!

Dispatch from the Hideout: Endemic Edition

Celebrating a Decade of Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!

It Takes a Village: Lessons Learned

Intentions & The Lessons of Progress, Not Perfection

Letter to Loved Ones (Just in Case)

For the Love of Movies (& Memories of My Mother)