Heartbreaks ~ A loved one's kindness is a gift to be cherished.

My Fur Baby Chomper Marie, Blessed Father Doyle, Kindest Mommy, Gentle Bub, Loving Arty, Adored Grandma Dete, Beloved Aunt Nor Nor, Devoted Mom, Treasured Dad, Dearest Nan, Cherished Pop, Loyal Friend, Joe, Sweet Dottie.

Fallen WWII Hero ~ PFC Walter S. Kienzle ~ He gave his life for freedom.

Matilda "Tillie" Smith - A Tragedy ~ Gone Too Soon

Kevin M. Preiss ~ Beloved Fallen Find A Graver

Saint Padre Pio ~ Pray, Hope and Don't Worry

Queen Elizabeth II ~ Beloved Monarch

Sequoyah Rashad Jackson ~ Gone Too Soon

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"The Winter of What Could Have Been" 9.19.2026

"I had found my tribe. " Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, 9.16.2026.

"It was the last time you all sat at the table together and no one knew it was the last. It was the last time you'd ever hear their voice on the telephone, but you didn't know it was the last.

You don't get a warning before the last time. So, hold on tighter to the moments because you won't know it was the last one until it's gone. We treat forever like a guarantee until it quietly runs out." Monday, September 1, 2026

"What is meant for you will find you, whether you want them to or not." Sunday, August 30, 2026

"We make so many plans for our lives, but in the end, G-d writes the story." I miss you my beloved Aunt Nor Nor ~ 27 Years in Heaven ~ Saturday, August 29, 2026 @ 9:52 p.m.

"Make sure the choices you make today are ones you can live with tomorrow." Saturday, August 29, 2026.

Kafka once wrote, "Time teaches us to live without them." But Dostoevsky said : "You do not move on from someone you loved; you simply learn how to carry their absence without letting anyone see how heavy it is." August 29, 2026 2:07 pm.

"Miss people, but don't chase them. Remember the past, but don't live in it. Hope for things, but don't depend on them. Forgive people, but don't forget what they showed you. And live deeply, but never at the cost of yourself." 8.26.2026

"Maybe we miss the past not because life was easier, but because we didn't know we were living the days we'd spend the rest of our lives trying to remember. 8.17.2026

We thought there would always be another summer, another laugh, another dinner, another I'll see you tomorrow, until there wasn't. 8.16.2026

Maybe memories aren't beautiful because they're perfect, maybe they're beautiful because we can never live them again." 8.17.2026

"Some moments are more permanent than the people in them." Saturday, August 15, 2026 @ 3:30 p.m.

~ The Basement ~

"Twenty years of stuff came out of this basement, but it was never really just about the stuff. The baby clothes and toys from a time long past for a kid who's much older. Furniture, pictures, and keepsakes from a marriage that ended. The clothes from a body she used to have. Every box, bag, and bin was a version of herself she wasn't ready to let go of yet. Today, she found the courage." 8.15.2026

"I always wanted a house by the ocean. Maybe in another life." A quote by Sal from the Sopranos aka Vincent Pastore Actor ~ August 9, 2026

"Let's go back there and recapture the magic of the moment." TCM Movie Scene Reflections ~ Thursday, July 30, 2026

"Time humbles us all." Wednesday, July 1, 2026

"Work had been a massive part of her identity." 7.24.2026

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying good-bye so hard." Winnie the Pooh, Monday, July 6, 2026 11:01 p.m.

"Stop chasing people who have already stopped choosing you." 7.26.2026

"It's amazing how someone can break your heart and you can still love them as before." Monday, July 6, 2026

"When you lose your parents, you lose the past. When you lose your spouse, you lose the present. When you lose a child, you lose the future." Friday, July 3, 2026

"People make time for who they want to make time for. People text, call and reply to people they want to talk to. Never believe anyone who says they're too busy. If they wanted to be around you, they would." Tuesday, June 30, 2026 ~ So true! Lesson learned from the infamous BS text of Academy Award Actress received on 1.3.2021.

"Some things in our homes hold more than beauty. They hold memory, comfort, love, and pieces of who we've loved and where we've been. A teacup from your grandmother. An old recipe card. A chair where hard conversations happened. A lamp that moved with you through every season. The objects we keep often tell the story of who we are. And sometimes, in seasons of change, they remind us that we still belong somewhere." 6.25.2026

"The heaviest things we carry are not always in our hands. Sometimes they are words we never said, goodbyes we never accepted, and memories we never released." 6.25.2026

"The hardest things to carry are often the ones no one can see: silent pain, unfinished goodbyes, and memories we struggle to let go." 6.25.2026

"Some of the best moments in life happened when nobody was in a hurry." 6.25.2026

"Look for me in the sunshine, for I am always with you." 6.25.2026

"Love is the greatest gift that one generation can leave another." 6.25.26

"What we can accomplish at one stage of life is different from what we can handle at another." Today's Word, Thursday, June 18, 2026 @ 3:05 p.m.

"Time tells the truth." Even 54 years later it does. Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

"Some goodbyes hurt the most when nothing is said." Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 8:18 a.m.

"Everybody thinks there's more time. Until there isn't." ~ Once you lose someone close to you, someone you love dearly, then you will realize the heart breaking truth in this statement. CJP's reflections on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 8:53 p.m.

Hashem loves you. Thursday, June 11, 2026

"You never stop being a parent even though they stop being a child." Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 12:45 pm ~ An episode of the Walton's - The Inferno.

The silenced walls of 189 after 40 years. CJP Reflections, 6.9.2026

"We are all just passing through the same spaces." 6.8.2026

"Stop chasing closure. Give it to yourself." Sunday, June 7, 2026

"It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do." By: Jane Austen ~ Read Sunday, June 7, 2026

Choose kindness…Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.

Sometimes the shortest messages hit the hardest." June 6, 2026, 11:08 am Such as: "I wasn't happy." and "I don't want to do the work." - 3.1.2001

"By accepting the facts of our own lives, we mature into feelings of joy and pleasure alongside our griefs. Every man has to struggle with his own unique set of circumstances, even if they are not fair. Fairness is not an issue. Reality is what we have to deal with." Today's Word, June 5, 2026.

"Grief teaches you how to live without someone while a part of your heart still reaches for them every day."

"Nothing is a coincidence. Every soul you meet is written in your destiny. Either to teach you, to heal you or to love you." Monday, June 1, 2026

"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. By: George Washington Burnapy, US Unitarian Clergyman, June 1, 2026

"Emotional wounds take so long to close because you keep touching them. You keep picking at the edges to see if it still hurts. You cannot heal if you keep returning to the person, the place, or the memories that cut you. Leave the wound alone, walk away from the knife, and let time do its job." 5.31.2026

"Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it." ~ Leonardo da Vinci

"Memories bring back you." Friday, May 29, 2027 at 4:06 p.m.

"Losing someone after decades together changes the silence of every room forever." Friday, May 29, 2026 at 5:23 a.m.

"The ordinary moments are everything." Wednesday, May 27, 2026

"Life is a journey of slowly losing the people we love. So, while your loved ones are still beside you, cherish every moment with them because when time passes, memories are all that remain." I cried after reading this poignant quote because it is so very true. GM I promise you, you will realize it too one day, if you haven't already. CJP reflections on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 8:30 p.m.

"Forgive yourself for not knowing earlier what only time could teach." Wednesday, May 27, 2026

"How lucky are we to wake each day inside a memory we'll one day miss.

To live inside these moments, knowing one day we'll search for them in old photographs and familiar songs, aching to go back. These are the good old days, already golden." Saturday, May 23, 2026

I'm homesick for a version of life that only exists in my memories.

CJP Refections on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 9:02 p.m.

"Most people slowly disappear as life changes. Parents leave, siblings follow their own path, and children build lives of their own." You can never get back the occasion after it's missed ~ birthdays, milestones or small gatherings vanish forever once skipped. Wednesday, 5.20.2026

~ HEALTH ~

"You don't realize how precious life is until your health starts slipping.

People can juggle a million problems: work, money, relationships.

But, when health falters, all of it shrinks down to one concern: staying well.

Health becomes the real luxury, the foundation that makes every other part of life possible. Without it, even small joys feel unreachable.

With age, it becomes clear that gratitude isn't just for milestones or celebrations. It's for waking up, breathing deeply, walking freely and living another day.

Take care of your body cherish it and never take it for granted. Health isn't just wealth. it's the most valuable gift life gives.Wednesday, May 20, 2026

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"Forgive them, even if they aren't sorry. Let them be right, if that's what they need. Send them love and send them off. Don't tie yourself to small mindedness, it will steal your wellbeing." Sunday, May 17, 2026

"Valuing People: The people who stay by your side when the world feels heavy are the true treasures of your life. Never miss a chance to tell them how much they matter. Love them while they are still here, help them when you can, and listen when they need to be heard. Life is fragile, and the time we have together is the most precious gift of all." Saturday, May 16, 2026

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Worth repeating: "There is strength in consistency." Monday, July 28, 2025.

"My heart is, and always will be, yours." Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility ~ Saturday, May 16, 2026

"It was always you." F. Scott Fitzgerald, Writer ~ May 16, 2026

Don't Leave Anything For Later…

Later, the coffee gets cold. Later, people grow up.

Later, words go unsaid. Later, you loose interest.

Later, opportunities slip away. Later, the day turns into night.

Later, you regret not doing something.

Later, life goes by and you had the chance.

Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 9:40 pm

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"It's amazing how someone can break your heart and you can still love them with all the little pieces." Thursday, May 7, 2016

"Forgive yourself for not knowing earlier what only time could teach."

The truth is we can only understand certain things after we grow, after we go through life, and after time quietly teaches us what we once didn't know." Thursday, May 7, 2026.

"If you need to hide something ~ something is wrong." By: The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson ~ May 5, 2026

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another." This quote is from Ernest Hemingway's book "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Monday, May 4, 2026

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Goodbye beautiful April. Thank you for helping us remember life is renewed when your season comes around. Thank you for your welcoming, gentle cool breezes, for your the baby blue skies and your stunning sunsets. You are one of the most special months in my life because you brought me my precious GMP. CJP's Reflections ~ April 30, 2026 @ 9:27 pm

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard". Winnie the Pooh. Thursday, April 30, 2026

"Life steals time." Quote: Julia Alexandra FB; April 29, 2026 at 7:00 pm

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Shema Prayer

Cover your eyes with your right hand and say:

Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G‑d, the L-rd is One.

"Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.

You shall love the L-rd your G‑d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

And it will be, if you will diligently obey My commandments which I enjoin upon you this day, to love the L-rd your G‑d and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, I will give rain for your land at the proper time, the early rain and the late rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be sated. Take care lest your heart be lured away, and you turn astray and worship alien gods and bow down to them. For then the L-rd's wrath will flare up against you, and He will close the heavens so that there will be no rain and the earth will not yield its produce, and you will swiftly perish from the good land which the L-rd gives you. Therefore, place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, to speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates - so that your days and the days of your children may be prolonged on the land which the L-rd swore to your fathers to give to them for as long as the heavens are above the earth.

The L-rd spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to attach a thread of blue on the fringe of each corner. They shall be to you as tzizit, and you shall look upon them and remember all the commandments of the L-rd and fulfill them, and you will not follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you go astray - so that you may remember and fulfill all My commandments and be holy to your G‑d. I am the L-rd your G‑d who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your G‑d; I, the L-rd, am your G‑d. True."

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"Forgive yourself for not knowing earlier what only time could teach. Because the truth is, we can only understand certain things after we grow, after we go through life, and after time quietly teaches us what we once didn't know." CJP on realizations of life, Wednesday, April 22, 2026

"It's taken me a long time to get to where I am, traveling an often rocky and twisting path. I've gained and lost friends, celebrated and mourned, stumbled and gotten back up. Now I realize I've been loved and guided the whole time. I'm a child of God, and sometimes children take the long way home." Saturday, April 18, 2026

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"The melody that the loved one played upon the piano of your life will never be played quite that way again, but we must not close the keyboard and allow the instrument to gather dust. We must seek out other artists of the spirit, new friends who gradually will help us to find the road to life again, who will walk the road with us." Rabbi Joshua Loth Liebman ~ CJP Reflections on 4.14.2026

"Don't miss the chance to dance with them while you can. It's easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die. Don't let your life be stolen every day by all that you've been led to believe matters, because on the day you die, it won't." ~ Tuesday, April 7, 2026 ~ So True…

"Neil, Jesus is getting me ready." That's the last words she spoke on this earth. It brought comfort to us all. I know I will see my mother again in the land of the living with our friend Jesus Christ. That's real joy and hope eternal." NEIL

The world spins faster than I would like some days." 3.25.26

Meet Me At The Finish Line ~ You just went ahead of me. That's what I tell myself when the missing gets too heavy. You didn't leave me...you just arrived somewhere I can't reach yet. Sometimes I imagine you walking a little faster, turning back with that smile, waiting patiently at the finish line. So l'll keep going. I'll carry you in every step, every breath. And, when it's my time, I'll see you when I get there my beloved." 3.23.2026

"The moments pass swiftly into memory." Today's Word, March 22, 2026.

"Some silences are goodbyes…" This is so true…March 21, 2026

A Japanese legend: "If you feel like you are losing everything, remember: Trees lose their leaves every year. Yet, they still stand tall and wait for better days to come…" FB ~ Saturday, March 21, 2026. My sweet loved ones: Laura, Kimmy, Helen & Josephine ~ RIP ~ I love & miss you. In four consecutive months, I lost all of you so quickly and oh, so unexpectedly.

"Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny." A Japanese Legend ~ 3.21.2026

"Memories…like a movie we can revisit." Thursday, March 19, 2026.

"Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave and grow old wanting to get back to." Thursday, March 19, 2026 ~ Saint Joseph's Day

"Today, I will pass along the kindness that has been shown me." 3.18.2026

"The sadness will last forever." 3.17.2026

"Ríe y llora" is Spanish for "Laugh and cry." This song was popularized by Celia Cruz, it is an imperative phrase urging people to live life fully, embracing both joy and sorrow, and to savor every moment (la vida). It encourages resilience and finding happiness despite challenges. March 14, 2026.

"... and when it's your turn, G-d will make it happen for you." Saturday, March 14, 2026.

"Some places never leave our heart, even when time erases them." Friday, March 13, 2026.

"The world spins on faster than I'd like some days." Friday, March 13, 2026

"When our time on earth is over, money and material things won't matter. What will live on is the love, time, and kindness we gave others." March 13, 2026

"G-d loves us despite our brokenness." Third Sunday in Lent, March 8, 2026, Our Lady on the Mountain, Long Valley, NJ ~ 8:00 am Sermon

"A perfect gift asks nothing in return." February 28, 2026, 6:51 pm Today's Word

"You're Going to get through this." At first, when my mother said, "You're going to get through this," I thought she was just talking about my challenges raising a troubled teen. After she died, I realized she also meant I was going to get through losing a mother and all the other struggles that come with being human. I've since tried to give my children the gift of trust — the belief I have in their ability to handle whatever comes up in their lives. Sometimes, I relapse into old patterns of fear. But thanks to my mother, I now have a mantra to practice: You're going to get through this." By: Ann Batchelder , Author ~ Tuesday, February 24, 2026

"And when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. What do you call it, Freedom or Loneliness?" By: Charles Bukowski, 2.6.2026

"If a family has an old person in it, it possesses a jewel." February 6, 2026 ~ Reflecting on the loss of my Nan 28 years tomorrow. They were all my jewels ~ the elders I lost who I was blessed to have in my life.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 1.31.2026

The hardest lesson to learn, is how to be alone all over again. 1.22.2026

"Someday: I want to live by the ocean in an old cottage with a person I love. We can wake to the sound of the waves. And drift off to the sound of our laughter." Thursday, January 22, 2026. "Hold Fast to Dreams" ~ 67 Young Today

The pain of loss isn't just in the absence, but in the traces it leaves behind. That empty chair, the phone that will never ring with their voice again, the laughter that became just a memory.

You live between memories, searching for them in faces, in places, in dreams.

It's as if you're moving forward in life, but your soul is stuck in that final goodbye, the last look, the last words. Some losses are never forgotten; they become a part of us, silently living within us.

"People often fail to realize that those who have lost someone close to them change. Things change for them, life changes for them. They are merely trying to learn how to exist in a world without a piece of themselves that was there for so long." Author Unknown 1.19.2016

One life season ends and a new life season begins. CJP Reflections ~ Friday, January 16, 2026

Sometimes broken people just never ever heal in the broken places…Thursday, January 15, 2026…CJP

"We spend so much time waiting for Friday, for summer, or for "someday." But the magic is hidden in the Tuesday mornings and the quiet cups of tea. Don't miss your life while you're waiting for it to begin." 1.11.2026

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." By: Jane Austen - January 11, 2026

"Home is where you find peace." January 10, 2026

"Find joy in the little things, for they make life beautiful." 1.10.2026

"Grief is just love with no place to go." Author Unknown ~ January 3, 2026

"G-d is with you every day." Max Lucado ~ December 27, 2025

"Take care of your memories, for you cannot relive them." Bob Dylan - December 26, 2025

"Trust is like glass - once broken, you can fix it, but it will never be the same." December 20, 2025.

"We can't stop the passage of time." Today's Word ~ November 24, 2025

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"In the darkness of early morning, the bird outside the window begins to sing. Soon the eastern sky turns pink. The bird continues singing until the first yellow rays warm its soft wings. Then it flies away, not returning to the window until the next morning."

We can learn from the small bird how to have faith. We don't need to wait for something we want before having faith we'll get it. We can begin to show our faith by celebrating the things we usually take for granted. After all, when we take something for granted, isn't that a selfish form of faith?

We can start by singing a song to celebrate the new day, a day that will warm our hearts and shed light on our actions. Like the bird's faith in the sunrise, we need only have faith that G-d meant each day to enrich our lives. What faith can I celebrate right now?"

G-d help me let go of my fears and enjoy life. I haven't always known how to enjoy life, but You can teach me. All life is from You, so teach me to be free in Your light and love. Today's Word ~ November 15, 2025

November Gratitude: "Some days, gratitude is a full breath, a finished task, or someone asking how I'm really doing." By: Unknown ~ 11.5.2025

I Still Matter ~ An Inspirational Poem by Patricia A. Fleming 10.15.2025

I'M STILL HERE

My looks are nothing special, my face reveals my age, my body shows some wear and tear, and my energy's not the same.

Too often my memory fails me and I lose things all the time. One minute I know what I plan to do and the next it may just slip my mind.

I try hard to avoid my mirror. There are things I would rather not see and even those times when I just catch a glimpse, I can no longer recognize me.

The things I used to do with ease can now cause aches and pains and the quality of the things I do will never be quite the same.

I always compare my older self to those younger versions of me and I know I'm wasting too much time missing who I used to be.

But, the thing that really makes me sad is despite what people see, underneath my tattered, worn out shell, I'm still the same old me.

My heart can still feel endless love, and at times it still can ache. My heart can fill with so much joy, and then it can suddenly break.

My soul can still feel sympathy and longs for forgiveness and peace, and there are times its light shines boldly through, and times when it longs for release.

It's true, maybe now that I'm older, feeling lonely may be status quo, but it also has made me more willing to forgive and let past conflicts go.

So maybe to some I look ugly and old, a person who barely exists. I'm still quite aware of the beauty inside, and my value should not be dismissed.

So although not as strong and no beauty, it's true, I'm still here and want so much to live, and I know that there's no one in this world quite like me and no one who has more to give.

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"There was once a storyteller who told many people of her life. They listened and heard their own stories in hers. Hearing her story, they didn't feel so lonely anymore. Hearing about someone else who had lost things and people she loved, who had felt lonely, scared, and unsure of herself, let them feel less crazy when similar things happened to them." Today's Gift 10.23.2025

"Do not rush seasons of life, even flowers bloom only when ready." FB Monday, October 13, 2025

"Forgive quickly, not because they deserve it, but because your soul does." FB Monday, October 13, 2025.

Where there is life, there is hope." Lily Ebert, (1923-2024). Lily was a Holocaust Survivor of Auschwitz Birkenau.

At the age of 95, British actress Dame Patricia Routledge wrote the following:

I'm writing this to tell you something simple: Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again. Let these years ahead be your "treasure years". You don't need to be famous. You don't need to be flawless. You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours. With love and gentleness, Patricia Routledge.

Thank you Patricia for all the laughs ~ I'll miss you ~ CJP 10.6.2025

I love you, L-rd; You are my strength. Psalms 18:1 ~ 10.2.2025

"I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go and go deep into their roots for renewal and sleep." By: May Sarton who was a Belgian-American novelist, poet, and memoirist. September 22, 2025

"No season lasted forever." By: Diane Shiffer ~ September 5, 2025

"A mensch tracht un Got lacht." is Yiddish for man plans and G-d laughs. True wisdom means recognizing not everything is in our control. Judaism urges us to focus on putting in our best efforts while realizing the outcome is the hands of the Almighty." Thursday, August 21, 2025.

"Winter is on my head..but, Spring is in my heart." Victor Hugo wrote this verse about aging in his final years of life. Donna Beem, Find A Grave member from Oakwood, Georgia, shared this verse with me on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

My memorials give me somewhere to bring my grief, and to express my wish to honor those who have gone. CJP 8.16.2025

There is almost no work in life so hard as waiting. Fri, 8.15.2025

Time passes, but the memory stays. Mon, Aug 4, 2025

"I saw a quote that said: 'Don't ignore the effort of someone who tries to keep in touch. It's not all the time someone cares.' And it's the truth." 8.14.2025

"All beautiful things take time, their own time, to grow. They run on their own clocks, not on ours." Today's Word: 8.8.2025

"There is a lot of beauty in ordinary things." Aug. 7, 2025

"There is strength in consistency." Monday, July 28, 2025.

"If I feel lonely I can say a prayer, pick up a book, or pick up a phone, and make a spiritual connection." Today's word - 7.26.2025

In the quiet silence of the wee hours, I feel eerily alone. CJP thoughts on Monday, July 28, 2025.

"Fate and destiny are strange twins." By RM Saturday, July 5, 2025

"Meeting old friends brings back some of the happiest moments of life. We are taken back to a time when we laughed the most, cared the least, and lived life to the fullest." ~ Sunday, June 8, 2025

"Years of business and stress." Diane Shiffer ~ 6.6.2025

"Lonely for the past." James Earl Jones, Movie: Field of Dreams, TCM Friday, May 30, 2025, and "Heaven is the place dreams come true."

"Sometimes, we are one decision away from a completely different life." 5.9.2025

Theme Song from the movie M*A*S*H ~ Suicide is Painless

Through early morning fog I see, visions of the things to be. The pains that are withheld for me, I realize and I can see.

The game of life is hard to play. I'm gonna lose it anyway. The losing card I'll someday lay. So, this is all I have to say.

The sword of time will pierce our skins. It doesn't hurt when it begins. But, as it works its way on in, the pain grows stronger...watch it grin.

A brave man once requested me, to answer questions that are key, is it to be or not to be and I replied 'oh why ask me?'

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 11:00 p.m.

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"It's such a lonely road without you here, but I promise one day, I'll get to where you are…" 5.6.2025.

"Why do people have to lose things to find out what they really mean?" Quote from actor Gene Kelly playing the character Tommy Albright in the movie "Brigadoon". He said it when he returns to his love Fiona in Brigadoon at the end of the movie. Palm Sunday ~ April 13, 2025 ~ 5:44 p.m.

"The secret, dear Alice, is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. "It's then, only then, will you be in Wonderland." Lewis Carroll ~ 4.7.2025

"I understand now: your calls were the rope that held us together."

"Take the time. Grasp the moment for life is fleeting."

"Too soon old, too late smart."

"We all wear our struggles differently. Every storm runs out of rain."

"The miss will last a lifetime, but so will the love." CJP ~ 4.1.2025

"189 ~ A house with a broken heart is a house with walls and silence." March 20, 2025 6:34 a.m. ~ CJP

"It's been so long since yesterday." John Denver Song 3.11.2025

"There are some days you don't like to see go." From the movie, "The Miniver Story." Stated by Clem Miniver as he reflected with his wife the evening of his first day home to England after serving in WWII. 3.5.2025.

"I'd like to put the clock back and have this one all over again." From the movie, "The Miniver Story." 3.5.2025

"The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly. It's not the shattering itself that breaks you. It's the silence that follows, the quiet space where you realize there's nothing left to salvage. And in that moment, you know that you'll never be the same again. You'll build something new, perhaps, but it will never be what you lost." F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby ~ 3.2.2025

"Every step you take is supported by a thousand ancestors." 3.2.2025

"No one in the world will wish you as much success in life as your Mom."

"Change can be gentle when you set your own parameter." March 2, 2025

"Missing you all so much." CJP on February 16, 2025.

"The innocence of childhood shattered by grief." January 27, 2025

"When we forget how to see and hear the people we love, how to appreciate them, we grow careless. Too often, from sheer neglect, the relationship between us grows dull and silent, then slips, falls, and shatters. Paying attention to other people's needs and feelings can prevent this." Todays Word ~ 12.14.2024

"They alone are left me; they alone still faithful, for now death can do no more to them. At the bend of the road, at the close of day, they gather around me silently and walk by my side. This is a bond nothing can ever loosen. What I have lost: what I possess forever."

"Blue skies can be misleading." Carole Ann DiFasco-Radziwiłł ~ 12.17.2024.

"Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair." By: Annie Lane on 9.21.2024

Grief: An earth-shattering moment that changes you as a person forever. By: Mark Lemon ~ 9.22.2024.

"Life is short. Spend it with people who make you laugh and feel loved." ~ 9.22.2024

"Life is a very short trip, enjoy it! FB 4.26.2024

"The seasons of life change, and fly by, as all seasons do. We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun…but sadly, our seasons in the sun have ended. So, to those who are closest to my heart, who I love and miss beyond measure, who loved me unconditionally, I long to talk with you, laugh you, hug you and kiss you once more. I pray you hear me until we meet again ~ I pray." By: CJP

"Sometimes I wish I could just rewind back to the old days with my loved ones and press pause... just for a little while." By: CJP

"People must be remembered Charlie otherwise it's as if they were never here at all. All we are are the people who remember us. If we go away, and everybody forgets we were ever here, it's as if we never were." Quote from Sara in the 1968 Movie Sweet November. 6.19.2024

Charlie Blake : "A poem entitled 'Sweet November.' I promised you Sara, so here it is. Maybe good, maybe bad, but one thing's for sure, from beginning to end - it do rhyme:

Sweet November, they say you're wintry and gray. And yet, this love that you bring is sweeter than spring and warmer than May. Come December, when our November is through, we'll face the winter and smile for you know that I'll be staying with you. When we remember November's sunshine, we won't mind December's rain. For us, it will be like sweet November again." Quote from Charlie in the 1968 Movie Sweet November. June 19, 2024

Sweet November, they say you're wintry and grey and yet this love that you bring is sweeter than Spring and warmer than May.

I can't remember November sunshine more beautiful than today. Fleeting, it's true, but what can I do to make sweet November stay?

Come December, when our November is through, I'll face the winter and smile for I know that I'll be thinking of you.

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"To be welcoming means to accept others as they are, without passing judgment on their worth. It means to encourage them when they are despairing and to accept that they have a rightful place in our world." How blessed one is to be welcomed. Dad, Mom, Dete, Pop & Nan ~ all of you welcomed me and never judged me. Thank you ~ I love & miss all of you beyond words. 6.15.2024

"The secret, dear Alice, is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile." "It's then, only then will you be in Wonderland." Lewis Carroll

"He was my North, my South, my East and West. My working week and my Sunday rest. My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song. I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong." By W. H. Auden 2.23.2024 ~ Why, oh why did it have to end??? I'll always ask why.

"Fate and Destiny are strange twins. How much of our lives, are totally out of our hands?" By: Richard Mabey Jr. ~ A Valentine's Day Story ~ 2.9.2024

"None of us have a guarantee for tomorrow. Forgive those who have hurt you. Love one another. Help the poor. Be kind to others. Offer a kind smile to a stranger. Find your true purpose in life. Forget political differences. Love is the key that unlocks the strains of human relations. For love knows no boundaries." By: Richard Mabey Jr. "I Remember Mom ~ Mom's Last Apple Pie" ~ 2.9.2024

"Our families were our earliest teachers; we can pick some new teachers." 2.1.2024

"Love the people in your life. Forgive, forgive, forgive. Cherish every moment." By: Richard Mabey, Jr., December 2023

"When people treat you like they don't care, believe them." 12.15.2023

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK).

You left me behind decades ago…by CJP on 11.30.2023 at 7:04 a.m.

Maybe, just maybe, there are some happy 721's out there ~ just maybe…By CJS ~ A hopeless romantic ~ on 9.10.2023 at 7:21 p.m.

"Two things in life change you, and you are never the same: Love and Grief." 8.1.2023

"The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere." Anne Morrow Lindbergh 8.3.23

"Slow down, keep going, and take a deep breath. Someday, it's gonna make sense." 7.31.2023.

"I want all of my lasts to be with you." 7.29.2023

"Genealogy begins as an interest, becomes a hobby, continues as an avocation, and, in the last stages, is an incurable disease." Author Unknown - On Fine a Grave Member Carole's page. Carole is now deceased. MEMORIAL ID 185931072. 7.19.2023

"Sometimes life makes decisions for you." 5.27.2023.

Inscription on Country Singer Patsy Cline's gravestone: "Death Cannot Kill What Never Dies: Love." 7.10.2023

"I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a shiny sliver out of one hour. I dropped it carelessly. O God! I knew not I held an opportunity." By: H. Lee 1.1.2023

"In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." By: Robert Frost 2.1.2023

"The sad thing is that the older a person gets the wiser they become and then they die with all that knowledge." William Shatner Age 91 3.10.2023

H.O.P.E. = Hold On Pain Ends - 12.28.2022

"The sweet sadness of age." Sunday 3.26.2023

2..27.2023 ~ The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. By Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms.

2.20.2023 ~ My Find A Grave journey began 11 years ago today all thanks to my dearest cousin, Dorothea Muriel "Dottie" Brooks-Jandrucko. It has been an 11 year journey of memorializing loved ones, of remembering and reminiscing, of tears and mourning, of healing and solace, of genealogical research and discoveries.

11 Years of Find A Grave ~ All thanks to you cousin Dottie Brooks-Jandrucko. I sure do miss you and your sage advice, our lively and ever so interesting late night conversations and your view of the world.

"Why waste the moment? We are here such a short time." 12.24.2022 ~ Author Unknown

"You don't just lose someone once, you lose them every day, for a lifetime. By: Donna Ashworth ~ 10.29.2022

"… the only companion we will have from birth to death – ourselves." – Eda J. LeShan 8.3.2022

"Where there is God, there's no need." 7.31.2022

Family is anyone who loves you unconditionally. 3.24.2022

"Illness has no calendar for good times…" 2.22.2022

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"Sometimes saying I'm sorry is a good way to melt anger and find the love underneath it." Daily Reading 7.26.2022

Gaelic: "An grásta ar Dhia a bheith in éineacht leat". English Translation: The grace of God be with you.

"Sunrise, sunset ~ Sunrise, sunset swiftly fly the years. One season following another laden with happiness and tears." 4.20.2022

Gardens of Varanasi ~ Song by Jeff Oster

We learn as much from sorrow as from joy, as much from illness as from health, from handicap as from advantage - and indeed perhaps more. By Pearl S. Buck

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This poem below by poet Langston Hughes has been my favorite poem since I was a teenager growing up in the Bronx.

I first saw/read it while attending John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx in a classroom on the wall over the teacher's desk. Not sure if it was an English class. But, I read it every day while attending that class.

It always resonated with me. I would sit and read it while the teacher prepared to begin her lesson while the sun was shining through the windows.

It went across almost the entire wall on top, near the ceiling over her desk, above her head where she sat.

❤ Today's Gift ~ February 27, 2022

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field, frozen with snow."

By: Langston Hughes

Watching birds spread their wings and soar can remind us of the best in ourselves. In joyful moments we all feel our own desire to fly, to reach toward what we dream of doing.

Our dreams give us a direction to fly. Birds fly toward the light for joy, toward green leaves for shelter, to water and berries for food. In the same way, our dreams direct us to the course of our own joy, shelter, and nourishment.

Sometimes as we fly, we bump into disappointments. They may temporarily stun us or slow us down. But just like birds that are occasionally wounded, we can heal ourselves and fly again. We can choose to not let the hardships of life break our spirited wings. Rather, we can keep spreading our wings, soaring in the spirit of joy.

Am I flying today, or must I heal a wound first?

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"Hurt people hurt people." By: Terry Crews 2.20.2022 ~ Finding Your Roots

"In a message released on the eve of the 70th anniversary of her becoming monarch, the Queen, 95, said that "when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King…". What an eloquent way of saying when I'm dead. Long live the Queen! 2.6.2022

"January is gone - it flew by. Time seems to fly by as we get older. In our youth, while trying to etch out a life, we don't realize how time flies. Once we are older and we accomplish the "things" we were chasing, we slow down, but time does not. If I knew when I was younger how fast time flies by, I would have taken the time to smell the roses." 2.1.2022 ~ CJP reflecting on how quickly January 2022 flew by.

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"Come, little leaves" said the wind one day; "Come to the meadows with me and play. Put on your dresses of red and gold; For summer is past, and the days grow cold." 2022

"Death ends a life. But it does not end a relationship which struggles on the survivor's mind, toward some resolution, which it may never find." 2019

"The saddest word mankind will ever know will always be "Goodbye".

"Two things in life change you and you are never the same: love and grief." 1.16.2022 FB

"Nothing is ever perfect, but things can be just right." Jo ~ Little Women Movie ~ 12.26.2021

"They walk with us down quiet paths, and speak in wind and rain, for the magic power of memory, gives them back to us again." By: Yo from Find A Grave in 2017.

"There are three deaths. The first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time." 11.7.2021

"A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer's wave goodbye." Author Unknown 11.6.2021

And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves. By: Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse ~ 11.3.2021

"He that knows patience, knows peace." Chinese Proverb 10.16.2021

"He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears." Michel de Montaigne 10.16.2021

"Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late." ~ Benjamin Franklin ~ 10.16.2021

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." Theodor Seuss Geisel ~ 10.16.2021

It's not for us to invest our time and fix people ~ wow ~ how powerful is that? I have been a caretaker my whole life. If only I had taken care of myself the way I have taken care of the people in my life. If only…By: CJP 10.10.2021

Living by the clock. 9.14.2021

"I think we dream so we don't have to be apart for so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can be together all the time." ~ Winnie-the-Pooh 9.17.2021 Find A Grave

Today is a perfect day to believe in miracles. 9.10.2021

"I often wonder what I'd say to you if I could see you one more time.

And, I've come to the conclusion that there aren't words in our language for that moment. I would simply hold you and cry, and I'd whisper that I love and miss you. I always have, always will. Our hearts don't really need any words at all." By: Joanne Cacciatore ~ FB 9.10.2021

9.6.2021 ~ They Are Not Long - Ernest Dowson

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter, love and desire and hate; I think they have no portion in us after we pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses, out of a misty dream our path emerges for a while, then closes within a dream.

8.29.2021 ~ I miss you My Beloved Aunt Nor Nor

"Through the strongest of storms or the softest breezes, listen to the wind and think of me. I'm in the creaking of the trees, the breaking twigs and falling leaves. I'm in the fresh dew upon a thirsty tomorrow. I'm through the prism of a tear trickling down in sorrow. I'm in all God's creations, in all you hold dear, just north of the clouds, I am near." By Weathered Raindrop FB

8.26.2021 ~ "Only time holds the answers." GMP on FB

8.22.2021 ~ One of my friends in "life's crew". JGL Friend

8.22.2021 ~ "Lifelong friends don't grow on trees." JGL Friend

7.21.2021 ~ A sad, painful lesson learned: "Don't give so much of yourself to people who will not do the same for you." Author Unknown

7.25.2021 ~ Missing You ~ "I miss the sound of your voice, the stories you told, the ring of your laugh, and your presence that glowed. So yes, time changes nothing because I miss you as much today as I did the day that you left." CK

7.24.2021 ~ " I have come to see that there are two kinds of death: death in the flesh and death in the heart." By Sheila Weller 5.10.2010.

7.22.2021 ~ "Fate and destiny are such strange twins." Richard Mabey, Jr.

7.19.2021 ~ By Me: "Grief is the price we pay for love." ~ Queen Elizabeth II. A simple, powerful statement. It conveys so much to those who are blessed with love. I love you infinite & I will grieve you infinite all the days of my life ~ until we meet again. Forever paying for price for loving you ~ Forever."

7.16.2021 ~ "Nothing is forever. Some relationships simply are not destined to be eternal." ~ I thought ours would be…

7.6.2021 ~ "Life humbles you as you age. You realize how much time you wasted on nonsense."

6.21.2021 ~ "As long as life and memory last, I shall remember thee". Tommy LaSorda Jr. Headstone inscription.

6.17.2021 ~ "I'll see you down the road." By: Nick Guthe.

6.18.2021 ~ Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. By: John Donne

Meaning: The phrase "For whom the bell tolls" refers to the church bells that are rung when a person dies. Hence, the author is suggesting that we should not be curious as to for whom the church bell is tolling for. It is for all of us.

5.31.2021 ~ Memorial Day ~ 'Gott mit uns.' … German - means 'God is with us.' ~ Belt buckle of dying WWII German Soldier: Tony Vaccaro photograph.

"You are just an echo in the wind." By: CES November 11, 2020.

~ In Our Time ~

And when we grow old I will find two chairs and set them close each sun-lit day, that you and I ~ in quiet joy ~ may rock the world away. "In Our Time" and "Gratitude" By American Poet Robert Sexton

Time stays ~ we go...

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Gratitude

I will never forget your kindness. Its gentle warmth will continue to glow, long after these days have passed. You have been a gift to my spirit, and ~ evermore ~ I will hold dear the blessings of your gracious heart.

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For My Mother

Even when you're all grown-up, your mother still can say

exactly what you need to hear to take your cares away.

Even when you're all grown-up, your mother still can do

some special little favor that just means the world to you.

She still can really make your day in one way or another.

Yes, even when you're all grown-up, you always need your mother.

You always knew what I needed...hope you know I'll always need you.

"I love you Mom...this card says it all!

There will never be a day when i don't need you! You mean the world to me and I love you so much!"

Happy Mother's Day ~ Guppy xoxo

From My Precious GMPK

Mother's Day May 12, 2013

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If you tell the truth, you don't need to remember anything. Mark Twain

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop

"The melody that the loved one played upon the piano of your life will never be played quite that way again, but we must not close the keyboard and allow the instrument to gather dust. We must seek out other artists of the spirit, new friends who gradually will help us to find the road to life again, who will walk the road with us." Rabbi Joshua Loth Liebman ~ 5.10.2022

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April 20, 2022 ~ 7:00 PM ~ Happy 38 GM ~ Wish we shared the day…

Life's Reflections

"I did not know at the young, tender, and naive age of 20 when I danced to this song at the Marina Del Rey in the Bronx with DS, the true meaning this song would have for me 43 years later." CJP

Reflecting back through all the years, and tears of my life, these sage words have come true! I only wish I knew then, what I know now so I could relive those 43 years differently. Sadly, that is not how life works.

Sunrise Sunset — Saturday, July 21, 1979

Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older. When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty? When did he get to be so tall? Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?

Sunrise, sunset, Sunrise, sunset swiftly flow the days. Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers, blooming even as we gaze.

Sunrise, sunset ~ Sunrise, sunset swiftly fly the years. One season following another laden with happiness and tears.

What words of wisdom can I give them? How can I help to ease their way? Now they must learn from one another day by day.

They look so natural together. Just like two newlyweds should be. Is there a canopy in store for me?

Sunrise, sunset ~ Sunrise, sunset. Swiftly flow the days. Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers, blossoming even as we gaze.

Sunrise, sunset ~ Sunrise, sunset. Swiftly fly the years. One season following another laden with happiness and tears.

5.23.2022 ~ To My Guppy Marie ~ Please Remember…

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together... there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you." By: A.A. Milne

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Smell

"Smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard.

Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief. Even as I think of smells, my nose is full of scents that start awake sweet memories of summers gone and ripening fields far away." By: Helen Keller

GMP shared this poem with me in June of 2023. I never knew of it, but surely could relate to it. She keeps it on her desk at GS. I love you my GMP.

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The Fallen ~ A Poem Written Those Who Are Forever Young

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning…We will remember them.

This poem was written by the "English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914. This verse, which became the Ode for the Returned and Services League, has been used in association with commemoration services in Australia since 1921."

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The Windmills of Your Mind ~ Theme Song from Thomas Crown Affair

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel.

Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon. Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon.

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face, and the world is like an apple whirling silently in space.

Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own, down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone.

Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream.

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face and the world is like an apple whirling silently in space.

Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head.

Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?

Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand.

Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?

Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song, half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?

When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware that the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!

Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel.

As the images unwind, like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!