William Shakespeare said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Isn’t that the truth? But in the play Romeo and Juliet, I’m told that Shakespeare was referring to Juliet’s argument that it doesn’t matter that Romeo’s surname is ‘Montague’ from her family’s rival’s ‘house of Montague’. It made me think about my name…
I am excited to be returning to ‘the other land that I love’ (Romania!) on July 6 – landing in Frankfurt, Germany on the 7th – and then, to Bucharest – and finally up into the Transylvanian Alps to Brasov. Lord willing, I will be hands-on in the work until the first week of October. I can…
I would never have dreamt in a thousand years that I would be using this space this month for the following: Jesse Diauto – Born January 21, 1977 – Died unexpectedly May 22, 2017
I am so excited to be headed back to ‘the other land that I love’, Lord willing, on July 6. I miss my babies! I miss my kids! This summer will mark seventeen years in Romania – and I truly feel after all this time that I am their ‘Mama Dawn’. In a couple of…
I always loved going home for the breaks during my college years. It was HOME! With all its familiarity, I could have navigated through our old New England colonial blindfolded. Nothing ever changed. Everything was right where it supposed to be. The butter and condiments were in the same cupboard. The towels right where they…
It has been a busy first month back in the States – Thirty-nine year old Alina, who has non-Hodgkin’s’ lymphoma for the second time in her face endured days of painful stem-cell removal in preparation for cancer treatment. The doctors couldn’t find enough healthy stem cells to set aside and freeze, so Alina had to…
It is common knowledge that every major religion has a symbol. I’m sure that we all would recognize each one. My favorite television quiz program, Jeopardy has had a category more than once covering ‘world religions and their symbols’. I came across an article recently that put together these religions with their visual symbols in…
Six weeks in my beloved Romania passed like a flash before my eyes. That was a result of being extremely busy at both orphanages, Barza Mica and Albina, and also, without having even one day off. I arrived in Brasov in February just in time to help with some dire financial needs at Barza. Praise…
“Not everyone can say (it), but I count myself lucky to have a birth mother who loved me enough to know she wasn’t ready to be a mom. I’m lucky that I have wonderful parents who chose me. I often say adoption is a full-circle blessing and I truly believe it. Adopted children were not…
On a personal note, I was so blessed to be able to spend two months in Georgia to be with my 4 beautiful grandchildren there – Isabelle, Noah, Lily and Rowan. It was the first time that I had felt like a real grandmother, and not just a guest or a visitor. I love being…