Maybe There Will Be Cupcakes

Ginny Bartolone's Blog of Many Years

Tag: life

  • The Counting Down of Days

    I’ve always been a calendar counter.  When I was a kid, I used to pick something in the future to look forward to and write numbers across the little boxes on my wall calendar.  I’d cross them off with big markered x’s, even occasionally adding a half slash around noontime.  As a now-Buddhist, this isn’t…

  • BRB: Ukulele Parade

    Today I celebrated the Summer Solstice by marching in a ukulele parade.  I do not, sadly, play the ukulele, but I did play a mean plastic maraca and tried to sing along.  Also, I broke a curse! This was the first official parade that I’ve ever  marched in.  I’ve been scheduled to march in several…

  • The Camino List!

    I woke up this morning with a new sense of hope. It is the first time I’ve slept soundly through the night since last weekend, and I’m sure it was partially due to the fact that I was finally able to eat somewhat normally yesterday.  I’m still unable to get back to hiking training, but…

  • “But that doesn’t make it okay…”

    Just before leaving the house this morning, I flipped open a book by Pema Chodron that I’ve been slowly reading.  I specify slowly because it’s a breakdown of an eighth-century text called The Way of the Bodhisattva by the Buddhist sage Shantideva, and most of it takes some time to process.  I usually have to be in…

  • I Never Wanted a Barbie Dream House

    On my drive to work this morning, an old Barbie Dream House had been left out on their curb for bulk trash day.  And of course, it’s raining, so it was a wildly depressing sight. But the size of the thing!  That dollhouse, now crumbling and filling with water, must have been up to my hip…

  • Wisdom for this Year’s February Thaw

    When I walked into school this morning, a flying-v of geese headed north overhead, presumably returning early from the winter.  “February Thaw,” as one of my friends recently told me this strange stretch of weather is called, is confusing to me.  Everything since November has felt like a reason to worry, this unseasonably warm weather…

  • An Acting Lesson for Troubling Times

    When I was twelve, I played Anne Frank in a local theatre production up in the mountains of North Jersey. It was in one of those spaces that makes you miss the community theatre scene–a sturdy, 19th-century chapel in the center of town, with original wooden pews, a lady bug infestation, and the smell of…

  • The Positivity Paradox

    We, as children, have an innate urge to change the world for the better and to help one another. We recognize the world is not perfect. But as we get older, a cynicism, or a comfort with our small level of day-to-day awareness diminishes this drive. The bigger picture overwhelms us, and so we stall,…

  • Do Not Let Me Entertain You

    This is in response to today’s Daily Post, entitled “Invitation.” If you go to the theatre, turn on a movie, stand in front of a work of art, switch on the radio–do not let me entertain you.  If you do, you are being tricked, you are missing the point, you are closing off a part of…

  • Day 30: The Day We Decided to Get Married

    For the final 30 days of my twenties, I am writing one personal narrative a day that has impacted my life until now.  To read more about my challenge, feel free to check out the first post.   Also, this 30-day challenge is to support a wonderful charity, Zara Aina.  Please check out my fundraiser here and if you’re able,…