"Go on with your normal day." That's what we were told to do on this 10th anniversary of 9/11.  So I went for a run, practiced the piano, and cleaned the kitchen. I went to the grocery store, took a nap, and did laundry.  I walked to and from the laundry room, white basket balanced on my hip, held steady with my right arm. And with every airplane that flew overhead, I couldn't help but look up. I did my best to suppress the paranoia that no doubt crept over the majority of New Jersey and New York. Neck craned and imagination running wild, I followed the jet soaring above that was no larger than a dot in the sky. It glided from one horizon to the other, momentarily being eclipsed by a tree branch that arched overhead. It was then I noticed a birds nest I'd never before seen, tucked firmly within the sturdy limbs of the mighty tree. I wondered what birds had hatched and lived within the woven walls of twigs and leaves. "They're safe up there," I thoug

Change, whether it's the gradual shift in seasons, or sudden like an unpredictable storm, it's bound to happen. The changes in my own life over the past year and a half, are obvious when I take to the time to reflect. And each one held its own set of struggles and benefits.  There is a change today in the name of this blog, from "One Magical Moment Per Day," to simply "Magical Moments."  For 582 days, I've made an effort to choose one positive moment to write, sing, or video about and share with whoever feels compelled to follow this blog. And while I no doubt will experience numerous more of these moments on a daily basis, I've decided to lessen my posts.  I began this blog during a time when I needed accountability within myself to  choose  to see the positive aspects and beauty throughout difficult situations. My original intent was to post one of these moments every day for one year. When a year came and went, I still felt like I had much more

Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and now the 10th anniversary of 9/11 looming. This area has been through quite a bit recently. The local news is packed with stories of road closures, heightened security, and power outages. It's enough to make you not want to go outside.  But I  did  go outside. I can go to Shoprite now and buy groceries because the water has receded. I can drive to and from work, when just last week I was forced to miss a day due to flooded highways. I can jog outside with Joy, because the rain let up this morning.  It takes a while, and we still have a ways to go, but these daily routines are a gentle reminder that hard times  do  pass. Sometimes, it's only 5 or 6 days for the waters to go down. Sometimes it's a decade before a country starts to heal from a horrifying loss and gaping wound. But this too will pass. And yes, what you're going through, that will pass too. Said Charlie Brown to Snoopy, "Are you upset little friend? Have you been

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know that my husband,  Eddie, is quite a romantic .  He never fails to make me feel special, and I still smile when I think of  how we met  and fell in love. In our early days, it took Eddie a little while to discover that I was not as openly "lovey-dovey" as he was, though I secretly adored his romantic antics. He  re-proposes to me  at least once a year and writes me  text message poetry . We joke about "The Five Love Languages" (a book by Dr. Gary Chapman), and that Eddie has 6 of the 5, while I have 1 or 2. (Good book, by the way). Eddie and I had a day off together, but were so tired from a busy week that we spent most of the day lounging around the apartment, taking advantage of the opportunity to just do nothing. We ended up watching early episodes of "The Office," where Jim and Pam's romance develops. In a particularly love struck moment, Eddie called to me, "I want to hold your han

Despite living in New Jersey for 2 years, and being married to a National Park Ranger, I just discovered today that we live only a few miles away from a pretty significant National Historical Site. The  Great Falls  in Paterson, NJ, dates back to the 1700s when Alexander Hamilton and a group of investors, began to look for a way to harness the power of the Passaic Falls. They developed the most significant power system of its time, and today the Great Falls and to this day remain the 2nd largest volume falls on the East Coast. The rain fall from Hurricane Irene has created a fury of water flow and brought some local and national attention to the site. President Obama even inspected the falls after Irene subsided.  We could see the water is unusually high. And sadly, the havoc from the flooding has swept an enormous amount of garbage into the water. It's a very powerful sight.

Well, I dyed my hair blue today.  Not kidding.  Not exaggerating.  Not on purpose.  Not blue in a "certain light."  Blue. Blue like the sky. Blue like my mood when I didn't have time to fix it before I went to work. It was supposed to be a light, golden brown...my attempt at saving money was to use a box instead of a professional.  Recently, I've started to imagine that dreaded day when I look in the mirror and discover my first gray hair. Well, whatever trauma gray hair may cause in the future, it cannot be worse than blue hair now. Wishing that baseball caps were appropriate work attire, I went to work, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Wouldn't this be the day when the outspoken boy with dreadlocks came to class?  "Hey!" he called when he saw me sitting behind the piano, "Your hair's not red any more!" Definitely  not  red. There was an awkward pause. That moment when the person who notices the change is supposed to say, "Look