Author Archives: cyrein

As I’ve aged, I’ve had fewer days when I feel like this, bursting with energy. (See my earlier blog, Aging and Ageism.) But, today I do, so I’m going to dissect it, or at least try. Here are some of the seeds of this burst, as there are multiple threads. First, I must describe aContinue reading “Bursting with Energy”

Simply the thought of Valentine’s Day conjures up visions that remind us of love. Well, I have both strong memories from the past and good plans for this Valentine’s Day that I am happy to share. In 1976, not on Valentine’s Day, but on Father’s Day, my son was born. Because it was Father’s Day,Continue reading “Love and Valentines”

For about fifty years, I have been attending weekend retreats and workshops, one every year or two. Until Covid, that is. Sometimes I make my selection based on a skill I wanted to develop or lessons to be learned, sometimes based on exploration or simply self indulgence. Always the location, its food, and its philosophyContinue reading “Electric Car Excursion to a Retreat”

Although I have experienced sexism in my life — being turned down for a job because I am a woman — I am not aware of being a victim of ageism. At 76 years old, I have had the opportunity to work until I was ready to retire at 70 years and I have enjoyedContinue reading “Aging and Ageism”

Even when a major holiday contains many familiar elements through the years, it’s never identical from one year to the next. However, this year’s Christmas for me retained essentially none of its usual components. Nevertheless, it was not a bad Christmas, simply different. The essential elements of a holiday are not confined to the actualContinue reading “A Different Holiday”

In early December, I had the honor and pleasure of lobbying with ECCO. That’s an abbreviated way of saying that I flew to Washington, DC with three other members of the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) and two United Interfaith Action (UIA) representatives in order to urge Massachusetts legislators to support the path to citizenshipContinue reading “Lobbying with ECCO”

Among the myriad after-thoughts in my mind after spending two weeks in Egypt are these that each deserve attention: Cruising the Nile, the food and eating, markets and bargaining, ancient pyramids, tombs and temples; hieroglyphics, highway travel, hotels, the weather, our tour group (A.R.E.) and its security. Here is a beginning account. I must startContinue reading “Notes on Egypt”

It’s five days before we leave for two weeks in Egypt and my brain is scrambled with thoughts of packing, passports, nailing down details of travel minutiae, and Covid anxiety. Among all of this was our decision yesterday to drive to the local Logan Express, to make sure we knew the exact location where weContinue reading “Anticipating Egypt”

This is not about stretching as physical exercise, but personally stretching beyond our comfort level. My earliest memory of stretching in that way was when I was about sixteen years old. I was at Mass, Catholic Mass, in the early 1960’s. One of the church announcements invited teenagers to try out for the color guardContinue reading “Stretching”

On Sunday, I was in Cambridge, walking two miles in the 17th annual Honk parade, costumed as a methane molecule. The Honk parade celebrates all things activist, this year accompanied by twenty bands. The weather was glorious, the route from Davis Square to Harvard Square packed with people of all ages, all happy, celebratory, andContinue reading “Being in a Parade”