take me back to the ball game?

In a matter of seconds, I went from a Chicago-living 27-year-old to my former 12-year old  self by simply seeing a "Frozen Lemonade" sign in the window this morning.  Before I knew it I was lost in memories of those summer days spent at my brother's baseball tournaments and all those Aunt Thelma's Old-Fashioned Lemonades that helped me beat the heat.  Besides …

silence of the heart.

We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy's fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure--your perfection--is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the …

my nostalgic ghosts of christmas pasts

Merry Christmas!  Feliz Navidad!  Happy Kwanzaa!  Since this is our first Christmas together, I should probably tell you about the annual Medica/Sturm Family's holiday celebrations.  For as long as I can remember, we've celebrated Christmas day with my parents' families in our house on Cheyenne Ct (Pittsburgh, PA), which we moved into when I was four and Nicky was two.  …

when we see each other time doesn’t matter. each time we see each other, it’s wonderful.

Since last Christmas, I've calculated having only spent 5 nights in my bedroom...in my parents' house.  The bedroom that I claimed as a 4-year old and lived in until moving to Columbus 3.5 years ago.  The bedroom that my parents still referred to as "your room".  (I know, they miss me.)  So saying I was anxious about returning to Pittsburgh …

all my life i’ve tried, to make everybody happy while i, just hurt, and hide, waiting for someone to tell me it’s my turn to decide.

As 2010 began I made a pact, witnessed by Adriana, that I was going to dedicate the year to me, myself, and I.  In a crowded bar, in the hopping neighborhood of Lincoln Park (Chicago, IL), I set out to make 2010: My Year.  Declaring it as "My Year" simply meant that, for once in my …

i’ve lived those seven days a thousand times. moments, now they’re all a blur, except for every second and every word.

It didn't take long after moving to Chicago in late November 2008 that I swore I would never live here to see another winter in this city.  Brr, was that one brrrrrutal!   That was almost two years ago and the weather these past few days has indicated that my third Chicago winter is quickly approaching.  …

so long astoria. i found a map of buried treasure and even if we come home empty handed, we’ll still have our stories of battle scars, pirate ships, and wounded hearts, broken bones, and all the best of friendships.

The only thing that matters is just following your heart and eventually you'll finally get it right. I once came across a line that I'm kicking myself for not remembering word-by-word.  In essence the line said: You know you've grown when you return to the place you left and everything still feels the same.  Sounds like a contradiction, …