Laura R. Protzman
-
Mindfulness
Recently, I enrolled in an online Mindfulness at Work challenge. I am hoping that it will help me calm my mind and focus better. During my workday, I often have emotional reactions to things people say, actions that are taken… Continue reading
-
Things Are So Different Now, Part II
When the train arrives, people start cramming themselves into seats on the double-decker cars. It is about a half-hour train ride from Canton to South Station in Boston. Some groups of passengers sit in seats facing each other around little… Continue reading
-
Things Are So Different Now, Part I
Our first living space in Massachusetts was an apartment on the South Shore of Boston. My partner grew up there, and he chose a place near the Blue Hills Reservation where he had worked in his youth. It is a… Continue reading
-
My COVID Christmas
Well, it finally happened. Jim and I managed to go through almost two years of the pandemic without testing positive. That changed last Sunday. We were preparing to visit family and friends in Pittsburgh, and took rapid antigen tests to… Continue reading
-
So Grateful
I feel happier in my life than I have in a long time. Life is good right now. I am savoring the moment. This too shall pass, I know, but I am enjoying my warm and fuzzy feeling. My partner… Continue reading
-
External Motivation
I often need a push from a force outside of myself to do the things I long for. Today I am using such a tool. I joined an online writing group. This is different from other groups I have attended… Continue reading
-
What’s Next?
It is the beginning of another year. 2020 was hard, amazing, introspective, confining, terrible, and beautiful. I am very fortunate to have a job, a comfortable place to live, security, health, support. Of course, all of those things could change.… Continue reading
-
Freewriting
I decided, shortly after our company asked employees to work from home, to do something with the extra time I had. Even on the weekends, I was not going to the usual social events and performing my customary volunteer work.… Continue reading
-
A Spring Day
As I sit on my couch with the windows open, I can hear the birds and see the leaves rustling in the trees. It’s May, and time for counting birds. Jim leaves today for West Virginia. He’ll be gone for… Continue reading
-
Mary Oliver
The American poet, Mary Oliver, passed away recently from cancer. I was not familiar with her, but I feel like I should have been. Certainly, I had heard what may be her most famous line, “Tell me, what is it you… Continue reading
Laura, Part 2 