Posts Tagged with Connection

Deep Roots

Choices, Meaning, Roots, Searching
Posted on 8 Comments on Deep Roots

When I was in mid-Oregon recently, in the high desert, I discovered some of the plants there have such deep roots. When it goes over a hundred days without rain and is above 100F degrees, that makes sense. I was weeding an area there at my daughter’s family’s home when I decided to take out this ragweed type plant, that was covering a gorgeous volcanic rock. I tried to pull it up with my hands. Yeah, right! So I went and got a shovel. I dug and dug, all around it. Five minutes later, I got it out. The root turned out to be over a foot and a half long, very thick at the top.

Then I noticed all the sagebrush blown everywhere. No way was the wind going to get this ragweed up either.

What does uproot us?

Family. Jobs. Tragedies. Marriage. Children. Military service. Divorce. College. Illness. Escape. Discontent. Dreams. Religion. Weather. Restlessness. Lifestyle.
Seeking meaning?

What has uprooted you?

How many times?

How far? A few miles? Another state? Another continent?


Fascinating as we review our choices, isn’t it? When and where were we rooted deeply, then again, when and where were our roots slim and ready for transplanting? For me, there were times I did not understand what was going on around me, why people were doing what they were doing. Which way the winds were blowing.

Right now, I am firmly rooted, yet not deeply. Where will I be in five years? I don’t know. Yet I don’t lose any sleep over it. Learning to sense when my roots are deeply implanted and when they are not has helped me a great deal in the last few years. When to let go and move on has taken me a long time to understand and then give myself permission to do so.

My, oh my.

Thanks for reading. Merci beaucoup. Let me know about your roots~

Yup, my book, When I Was a Rock Star is on Amazon in paperback and ebook.

Hot Wings and Kitty Litter

Belonging, Connection, History, Meaning
Posted on 4 Comments on Hot Wings and Kitty Litter

My daughter loves the fried chicken nuggets in a spicey sauce from a local Chinese-American restaurant. Amazingly, sometimes it is the only thing she can keep down due to her current health challenges.
When visiting her and her wonderful family, and finding out tidbits like that, as well as that her nineteen-month-old son has a large vocabulary and knows many gestures of sign language she has taught him, and that her remarkable husband is installing solar panels as well as digging water lines for their home, I was humbled. Then a larger sense surrounded me: I was part of their family. I helped feed my two grandsons, herded the dogs, weeded sagebrush and nasty pokie weeds to clear space for a garden, fed the goats, and then chased her two sons while their parents did household and farm tasks.

Family, belonging, meaning.


That sense of peace and belonging enveloping me felt lovely. Even as I have my own fulfilling life, it is much more solo and four hundred miles away from them. That sense was a pleasant surprise. To be part of their small community, not an external visitor. Ah, finding the right words to express this now.

Yes, my poppies are blooming. As are my foxgloves and the myriads of daisies. I write this while listening to David Garrett’s spectrum of musical expertise on his violin. Commitment, talent, meaning.

It was not only when hot wings had climbed to the top of the priority list of urgent things to retrieve, they were about to be out of cat litter. With four cats, that is a definite imperative.

So off drove my son-in-law on the forty-minute drive to town to get both the mandated items. As I dug up more weeds and kept an eye on the boys, ages four and a half and one and a half, as they filled buckets with dirt, dumped them out, and ran through it, I had to smile as I thought of my own priorities. Cat litter was in the mix as well, yet this being with my family was now it. They wanted my help. I loved doing it. I rescheduled my trip to France to be here, happily. Priorities, commitment, love.

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O la la, yes, Paris is fabulous.

Venus de Milo at the Louvre. I look forward to the next trip. Sitting at a bistro and watching the people, seeing the cars, taxis, & busses swoosh by, hearing the voices of people talking as they jaunt along the sidewalks, zooming along when riding in the Metro, eating a caramel crepe on the Eiffel Tower!
Breathing in and being in the ambiance of Paris.

When they were building the Glass Pyramid at the Louvre in late 1980’s, which is now the entrance to the spectacular museum, they discovered during the excavations there were ramparts and streets below the ground. Which according to our tour guide, that no one prior to the excavations had any knowledge that the ramparts were there and had been for centuries. The Louvre was built as part of a palace and fortress in the 12th century.

Safety, history, legacy.



From Paris, I will then take the train out to Langres, about a three hour, scenic ride through farmland, villages and the countryside. Langres is another ancient city, dating back to the 3rd century.

Much of my family history is there. And family. Getting to know and build relationships with my cousins who live in and around Langres is a joy and a wonder.
Cousins, walking the ramparts, seeing and being where my great-great grandparents lived.

Family, belonging, history.

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Peace, love, and light to you.

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Text and photos (c) copyright Mary Dessein

A Path to Besançon

Nature, Writing
Posted on 8 Comments on A Path to Besançon

When I saw an orange-breasted robin wrangling a worm up out of my lawn a couple days ago, I thought I have worked hard for things, too. Haven’t most of us? How many times did the bird have to do that to get a decent meal?

In looking at the abundance of irises in my yard, I saw the blossoms in full bloom and the tight buds yet to express their beauty to the world. Potential. Present and imminent for the future.

Wrangling. Abundance. Potential.
Working toward a goal.
The robin wrangler captured my thoughts. There are a myriad of birds in my world. When I sit on my deck in the evenings as the sun sets, listening to all the chirps, tweets, caws, hoots, coos, warbles of those birds, it is like I am connected to Nature, to the real world.

Working on my novel, being present for my family, going to a concert, helping a neighbor, mowing my lawn and weed-eating. I am connected to Nature, yes? A story-line in my novel took me to the town of Besançon in southeastern France (pronounced behzansan). Quite the history there, and it was way fun to be led to a new discovery.

Such a wondrous part of writing: the characters and events often reveal themselves as I am writing. I am sitting at my computer trying to wrangle the next event or conversation out of my thoughts. Then the character downloads it into my head. Another cool part is that when I try to create what I think should happen or what a character should say, there is the part of me that says, “That is not working,” or “That does not feel right.”

I have learned to pay attention to that part. Yay, it’s about time!

Thanks for reading~~ The foxgloves may be next: they are getting tall and are full of buds.

So … where is Home?

Authenticity, France
Posted on 18 Comments on So … where is Home?

Bon jour.
Having traveled a bit over the years, lived a few months in Italy in my early twenties, and lived most of my life in the Pacific Northwest, it is an interesting question for me now. Where is home? My adult children have lives and families far from me. I live in a comfortable home with a nice view. Is this my forever home? A new thought for me.

My recent trip to France was wondrous in every way. Paris is beautiful, historic and has endless things to do. Including sitting at an outside bistro enjoying watching the world of people bustling past, cars, and busses on their journeys. The Louvre, the metro, the Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, the crepes!

This cruise on the Seine river was fantastic. Another opportuinity for me to learn to be present and not rant about the unexpected obstacles. We got lost in Paris, missed our connection to enter the Eiffel Tower, and so were a couple hours late. If we had not been late, we would have completed our Seine cruise during the afternoon and missed the stunning sunset on the river.

The Apollo Gallery at the Louvre. Oh yeah, pretty impressive. It was the model for the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, which was completed in 1684. Versailles and the Louvre have been home for scads of people over the centuries. Things are still being discovered. Walls of the original medieval fortress were found under the Louvre as they excavated for the glass Pyramid in 1985.

Have you ever, or how many times, have you asked Where is my home? Is where I am now my forever home?

In Langres, the ancient town of my maternal ancestors, the question arose for me in a new and vibrant way. I re-connected with all four of my third cousins, and their families, after twenty-five years. Third cousins as our grandmothers were sisters. Rich, wonderful experience. Their children and grand-children are my fourth and fifth cousins! Yes, it matters. Family matters. Finding where we belong matters. Right?

Here is my new favorite refrigerator magnet: my four cousins and I at the Langres train station as I head back to Paris.

Am I going back to Langres? You bet!
Am I finishing my novel set in Langres? Oh yeah! Watch for it to be out early next year~

Thank you for reading my blog.
Merci d’avoir lu mon blog.

Blueberries from Peru?

Authenticity, Being human, Belonging, Bookstore, Change, Choices, Music
Posted on 10 Comments on Blueberries from Peru?

Indeed, it is the end of December. Blueberries have been out of season for months here in the Northwest. Yet they are on sale at the local supermarket. The label says they’re from Peru and Chile.
Again the question and thought arise: How has the world changed so much in the last decade? I will spare you my theories about that, I am working on clarity and not blaming!

Successes this year? Getting healthier, being more patient with my pup, who is now 2, helping my family, scads of work done on my home, walking regularly. And getting my book completed and published! Up on Amazon, so now the ongoing marketing.

Dmitri Matheny, my book, and I at the Anacortes Library in October.


A piece of clarity recently delivered was how the book, my pup, and the myriad of issues with my house have distracted me from my music. A couple of recent gigs and one coming up have brought back that missing element to my life. And it feels good to have it back, a void that I had not noticed until it said, “Hey, no practice, no gigs! No practice and your playing sucks!” Oh yeah, and I forget stuff! There is a richness and a being present when I play music, even practicing scales.

Practicing gratitude daily has also become part of my life. My opportunities, my freedom, my view of Admiralty Inlet, having a carport, my pup, caring and supportive people in my life, my adult children’s stability and families, my return to lap swimming. Oh yeah, and blueberries in winter.

All the best to you in 2023, it portends to be an abundant, productive year.
Thank you for reading.

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