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Tag: Angela Dunne

Angela Dunne

Having Heartbreak

I started to feel a sickness in my stomach.  My eyes welled without warning.  In mere seconds I felt myself feeling sluggish and exhausted.  Sadness was sinking in.  I wanted to stop time – change it even.  I felt desperate in my disbelief.  I was watching the election results unfold.  For me, my candidate was losing and lost.  I was now facing yet another of my life’s heartbreaks. This post is not political.  This post is about heartbreak.  It happens to each of us.  In many forms and in many ways over our lifetimes we will experience a hope lost,
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The Gift

I had just finished stringing cupcake liners on a piece of yarn to serve as party decorations for my daughter’s 10th birthday.  The “Cupcake Wars” birthday extravaganza preparation was nearly complete.  I now needed to wrap her birthday gifts in the fun cupcake wrapping paper I found on a fluke.  Wrapping gifts is my favorite part of any celebration.  I find nothing more delightful than producing a pretty package for the recipient. This year, her dad and I decided to go in together on a joint gift and each pay half the cost of her first iPod.  This was an
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Bitter and Sweet: A Tribute to my Sophia

She arrived at 2:55 p.m. on September 7th ten full years ago.  She charged into this world amid a flurry of frantic activity as my labor suddenly went into overdrive and I dilated from 7 to 10 centimeters in mere minutes.  3 pushes later she took her first breath:  My Sophia Grace. Oh how bittersweet this birthday is marking the completion of a decade spent dancing through the days with this daughter of mine.  From being the toddler who regularly pulled at my ear lobes for comfort in what we deemed Sophia’s ear tugs to now having long enough legs
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Dreams Undone

You have seen her:  The gymnast precariously perched on the balance beam curling her toes trying hard to stay upright on the beam seconds before she slips off.  You have seen him:  The gold medalist Olympian returning to defend his record only to fall into seventh place during the final seconds.  The Olympics, for the majority of those who walk in the parade of nations at the opening ceremony, will end up being the deathbed of their deepest held dream. I think about all of the dreams that go into the Olympics – thousands of dreams coming from every corner
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I Never Knew

Six words. Six words was the project assigned to my 6th grade daughter at the end of the school year. She was tasked with writing a six-word memoir of her life.  She completed the assignment and wrote: “I never knew they were unhappy.” I could think of a couple six word statements that I may have preferred: “I break for cats and books.” Or “I am happy, healthy, and whole!” Or “My mom is truly super awesome!” Any of these would have sufficed. Instead, five years later, she defined her life around her parents’ divorce.  This profound statement surprised and
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The Truth

She is tough as nails.  Oftentimes she is in my office wearing a leather jacket and when talking her deep voice reveals a sharp wit and quick intellect.  She has short stylish spiked hair.  I assume that she intimidates a large percentage of people who cross her path.  As I prepared her for what her trial experience may be, I wondered how she may come across in court – this tough as nails mom. I was positive that even if I had suggested her wearing an appliqué sweatshirt with puffy kittens on it to soften her appearance, she would not
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Pride

Rainbow covered and smiling they weaved their way through booths and paused on this day to celebrate Pride.  They came young and old, dark and light, coupled and solo, and all with the aim of inclusivity.  Parents came to support their gay children, couples came to announce their new marital status after having been together for years and years without being able to enjoy the bond of matrimony, and families arrived feeling whole. Our firm has been part of the annual Pride festival in Omaha for over decade.  Our aim was to provide education and services to the LBGT community
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Vacation Vulnerability

There they were – their hair whipping around them and their laughter intensifying with the bump of every new wave as we soared across Table Rock Lake.  Water sprayed up into our faces serving as a brief respite from the 90+ degree heat bearing down on us.  We didn’t care about our messy tangled hair, our wet swimsuits, or the heat index.  We were on summer vacation without a care in the world and we had nothing but time to enjoy ourselves. And yet vacations can be an uncomfortable reminder of your familial status being less than before.  It sneaks
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Memory Keeper

I felt a little embarrassed when the movers asked where the box with the wedding dress should be placed.  And then even more embarrassed when my landlord went to replace the carpet in the basement before I had fully moved out and had to move a small pile of belongings from the basement to the main floor – glaringly included in the mix of a handful of things was my giant and heavy leather wedding album. (Do I say former wedding album?) I had not packed it. It remained in the pile of items that I did not know what
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Moving On

(My daughters and me on the eve of our recent move) There has been a pit in my stomach for over a week now brought on by one of those inevitable changes in life – moving from one house to another.  While excitement may surface in the ebb and flow of change, for me, those moments are fleeting.  Packing up your life creates temporary chaos.  I can’t find my shoes, I forgot to pay a bill on time, and my pets are hiding in distress.  I haven’t eaten a decent meal in 7 days and the new night noises are
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