Christmas Eve, New Traditions and Funerals

25. December 2022 Gina DeNicola 2
Christmas Eve, New Traditions and Funerals
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written anything down, and I hope to change that in 2023. My Mild Cognitive Impairment diagnosis earlier this year has taken a lot of my words. However, I found some last night and thought I’d share. I’m a big fan of the Eve’s. Christmas Eve, the night ...

When A Favorite Uncle Dies.

When A Favorite Uncle Dies.
When you’re a child, you inevitably have a favorite Aunt or Uncle, and if you are lucky, they are married to each other. I was lucky because my favorite aunt on my father’s side was Aunt Nancy, and she just so happened to be married to my favorite uncle, Uncle Casey. This morning, my uncle Casey ...

Weddings, Old Age, Life.

Weddings, Old Age, Life.
  This weekend my baby got married—the last one of my two children. I now am a mother of two married adults, and I woke up this morning feeling weird. I’m not sure why; neither of my kids has lived at home for years, and my daughter has lived with her wife for two years, ...

I Don’t Know.

16. February 2022 Gina DeNicola 0
I Don’t Know.
  As I lay in the dark with the sound of ocean waves crashing in my ears from my sleepbuds, I thought, what could it hurt?  In my head, I said, “so God, what’s your plan here?” I haven’t talked to God in years, I’m not usually a fan, but earlier in the evening, I got ...

Hi, it’s me

24. November 2021 Gina DeNicola 2
Hi, it’s me
  Hi, I know it has been quite a long time since I’ve sat down and put some words on paper. I could say life has been crazy, but it really hasn’t. I could say I have been wrapped up in planning my daughter’s wedding, but I haven’t. I could say my job has been ...

Seven Years Ago Today

Seven Years Ago Today
  Every year for the last seven years, this day, August 31, has been a weird day for me. The feeling usually starts around the 20th of the month and promptly sets up camp in the forefront of my mind. With every smell of coffee brewing, it nudges itself a little further to the front ...

Love is Love is Love

Love is Love is Love
My daughter got engaged last week, and I couldn’t be more proud, excited, and happy.  I was lucky enough to go with her when she picked up her girlfriend’s ring, and as I sat in the car listening to her tell me how she was going to propose, I knew a few things for certain.  ...

Touring is Hard

Touring is Hard
  Touring is hard, and some days you are not the best version of yourself. Unfortunately, today I was far from the best version of myself, and an unsuspecting front desk person bore the brunt of the worst version of me.   I have no excuses but some explanation. Today was the 6th show day in ...

Right, Wrong or Different.

Right, Wrong or Different.
Another day in a hotel, another night on the bus, another cup of weak hotel coffee in my own mug. But today is the first show.  This morning I woke up in a different hotel room—my second in two days. I am certainly out of practice with working, with touring, and I feel like I could ...

I Hate Mother’s Day

I Hate Mother’s Day
I have always hated Mother’s Day. It’s not because I lost my mom; she is still alive and kicking in Florida at 76 years old.  It’s not because I have horrible children, because I don’t; they are well-adjusted, happy adults, and both live within 10 miles of me. I love my children with every fiber ...

Do Something Nice for Yourself.

Do Something Nice for Yourself.
Today I bought myself a new fancy pen.  I’ve never owned such a beautiful pen in all my life. I’ve certainly spent my fair share of hard-earned dollars on them, just not for me.  A very, very, long time ago I bought one of these fancy pens for an old boyfriend.  He was an accountant ...

Instagram Sparks a long lost memory.

Instagram Sparks a long lost memory.
I saw an Instagram post on a friend’s feed this morning. It was of her little girl dancing around in her dad’s tee shirt, and it brought back a wave of memories I hadn’t thought about in over 25 years.  When I was a little girl living on Long Island, we would visit my grandparents, ...

Anniversaries of Death

22. February 2021 Gina DeNicola 0
Anniversaries of Death
Five years ago this week, I went to visit my grandparents. They aren’t alive anymore; they’ve been gone for years but, I was reminded of this event compliments of Facebook. A picture of their headstone popped up, and it reminded me of how much I miss them. They have been gone for years, but when I ...

Birthday presents that can’t be wrapped.

09. February 2021 Gina DeNicola 3
Birthday presents that can’t be wrapped.
These last few months, I have been having a really hard time with the pandemic. I saw somewhere that someone coined a new word, “Pangry” it’s a made-up word that combines the words pandemic and angry. Side note, do NOT look that word up in the urban dictionary; it has a completely DIFFERENT meaning! But, ...

Lipstick Fantasy vs. Chapstick reality

04. February 2021 Gina DeNicola 1
Lipstick Fantasy vs. Chapstick reality
Here’s the thing, a few of my friends saw my post on Facebook with the birthday present from myself, and they have inquired as to the color of my brand new “lipstick” from Chanel, but here is the thing, I don’t wear lipstick, I never have. In all my 54 years, I’ve been a faithful consumer ...

Chucks, Pearls, Tears, and Hope…

Chucks, Pearls, Tears, and Hope…
As I sit on my couch this morning in my Grandma Tarallo’s pearls and one of my many pairs of chucks, holding a warm cup of coffee in my hands, I feel like I can breathe a little easier.   Last night when I sat on the couch, yes, I spend a lot of time ...

Goals….

Goals….
We are exactly two weeks in 2021, and what a crazy two weeks it has been so far.  I’m hoping 2021 didn’t realize it was supposed to be better and is currently doing some self-reflecting, burned some sage at the new moon last night, and correcting herself. To keep things real, I’m checking in to ...

Yesterday, was hard…

Yesterday, was hard…
Yesterday was hard, really hard. This morning I woke up, and for a split second, I forgot all about yesterday, and then it all came crashing back down on me. I didn’t get out of bed until 11 and made myself a big cup of coffee and sat in the silence of the day, hoping ...

No one is YOU and that’s your power!

30. December 2020 Gina DeNicola 1
No one is YOU and that’s your power!
  This year has been really weird, to say the very least. In January, I was wrapping up tour number two and getting ready for tour number three. Three tours back to back, six months on the road, and I was ready to be home; I didn’t think I realized it was going to be ...

Merry Christmas?

23. December 2020 Gina DeNicola 1
Merry Christmas?
Christmas is just two days away, and 2021 is a short nine days away and with it brings new hope of a better year, more hugs, and actual time spent with family that doesn’t involve a computer screen. I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written anything, and the truth is I feel ...

Dreams, Touring, and Joy

30. September 2020 Gina DeNicola 2
Dreams, Touring, and Joy
This morning I woke up to a boatload of emotions. I had a dream that Donald Trump had convinced one of the judges on the Supreme court to retire, and he got to add another judge just under the crooked wire. I was so distraught when I woke up; dreams usually do that to me; ...

If we were having coffee, sort of…

If we were having coffee, sort of…
Wow! It’s been such a long time since we’ve talked.   I haven’t written much of anything since the start of the pandemic, mostly because I require outside stimulus for inspiration and well, let’s be honest, there isn’t a lot of going outside these days.  I’ve mostly been reading, cooking, and started a new hobby ...