
In the flush of love’s light we dare to be brave. And suddenly we see that love costs all we are, and will ever be. Yet it is only love that sets us free.
–Maya Angelou
Diane Masiello is a part-time writer and a full-time mom, wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law. Like many who are currently part of the “sandwich generation,” – those who still have kids at home but are also taking care of aging parents—she is also trying to find the time to carve out some space for her own passions. In her earlier life she earned a Ph.D. in Education from New York University, and worked as an Instructor of English, then Assistant Professor of English at the University of Tampa. In 2003 she left academia to raise her two daughters—the longest, hardest job she’s ever held, and the most rewarding. During her time in academia she edited and contributed to a variety of academic publications, but her greatest joy was the publication of her first short fantasy story, “The Sunspot,” in CrossTime Science Fiction Anthology Vol. II. She has her own blog, “Afternoons with Coffee Spoons,” which started as a mommy blog but ended when she realized her daughters had become old enough that writing about them without their permission seemed invasive. She has just completed her first young adult fantasy novel, Keeper, and is starting on the maze-like road toward publication. She is thrilled to be a part of The Gloria Sirens and looks forward to the conversations her blog posts may inspire.
In the flush of love’s light we dare to be brave. And suddenly we see that love costs all we are, and will ever be. Yet it is only love that sets us free.
–Maya Angelou
A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, and always with the same person.
–Mignon McLaughlin
A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don’t function as we’re meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.
–Brene Brown
She wanted a relationship that consisted of loving someone unconditionally, flaws and all, so she started with herself.
–Stephanie Lahart
This made me wonder if, at some point, we’re going to become a society of “the masked vs. the unmasked.” If so, how will we be viewed? Will the masked be applauded? Ostracized? And will the opposite happen to the unmasked? Which way is society going to go?
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This week the kids went back to school after our beautifully long winter break, and I’m drowning in silence. I miss them. It’s hard, after the house has been full of joy, […]