life is messy

Your 12th Birthday

Poetry by Laura RMay 27, 2021May 28, 2021

Grief by Laura RMarch 28, 2021March 28, 2021

Domestic Violence is a Public Issue

Recently, I witnessed a man punching a woman in broad daylight on the sidewalk in front of my office. There had been arguing before the incident: her yelling as she was walking away from him and yelling as he was walking towards her. When you live/work in an urban setting, discord can often go unnoticed…tuned […]

Sheet Pan Chicken With Room For Healing

Quote by Laura RDecember 15, 2020December 19, 2020

LOCKDOWN by Richard Hendrick

Poetry by Laura RMarch 21, 2020September 20, 2020

Old Friends

Poetry by Laura RFebruary 3, 2020September 20, 2020

The Next Decade

Musings by Laura RJanuary 18, 2020September 20, 2020

Musings by Laura RDecember 22, 2016September 20, 2020

Kicked into Mindfulness

Most of the long-term homeless struggle to maintain sanity, while some of them never really had it to begin with, and many of them fall somewhere in the spectrum of genius. My ex-husband’s father was homeless. I met him once in the desert, just outside of Las Vegas. It had been 15 years since anyone had […]

Writing Samples by Laura RAugust 30, 2016September 2, 2020

This is what 40 feels like

You are under no obligation to be the same person you were a year, month, or even 15 minutes ago. You have the right to grow. No apologies. –Unknown I celebrated a birthday recently….40. Changing decades never used to be rough on my spirit, but this one has been weighing heavily on me. Not be overly […]

Thought for the Day: My Guiding Mantra

Thought for the Day by Laura RJune 22, 2015September 20, 2020

Thought for the Day by Laura RApril 22, 2015May 5, 2017

Thought for the Day: Being a Friend

You get out of friendship what you put into it. If you aren’t giving anything to it, don’t expect to get anything back from it. Transversely, if someone is taking out of it more out than they have put in, they shouldn’t be surprised when the well dries up. You gotta make deposits before you […]

Thought for the Day by Laura ROctober 18, 2014May 5, 2017

Thought for the Day: #102ZEN

Friendship by Laura RAugust 19, 2014September 20, 2020

To my Ginnie Girl

To one of my dearest friends and most honorable of sentient beings, Thank you for being in my life over the past 18 years, but mostly THANK YOU for letting me be your owner for 10 of them. We had a good run, you and I. You have seen more boyfriends and breakups than almost […]

News Flash by Laura RJune 29, 2014September 20, 2020

News Flash: Compassion does not equal Pity

A little over a week ago, I posted a picture online of two gentleman sitting behind a table, staring at a computer, steeped in conversation. It looked as though they were sitting in a living room, working on one of the gentleman’s taxes. In actuality, I was at a bar with some friends, watching a women’s […]

News Flash by Laura RFebruary 19, 2014May 5, 2017

News Flash: God Made Steve

Yes, this is a little late going up….by a year or so….but who’s counting anyway! After being rear-ended by a UPS semi in July, I am still dealing with the residual pain caused from a herniation in my cervical spine and a concussion because of the severe whiplash. Concussions do not make for clear thinking […]

Musings by Laura RDecember 23, 2013May 5, 2017

Safe Passage

“Do you give yourself and others safe passage through your mind?” This question was recently posed in a meditation forum I belong to. Often times, we do not. I have been thinking a lot lately about the labels we use, not just for things but people as well….stereotypes, to be more specific. We define most […]