The Joy of Shredding and Shedding
I got the 2020 materials to the tax woman, and the following Friday embarked on one of my favorite annual nerdy activities--shredding the stuff from year No. 8, in this case, 2013. However, the more I sorted through file folders, the more older materials I found! I laughed the loudest when I came across the receipt and installation CD for a 2009 Linksys router. Hmmm....

I also found some things that I wondered why I had kept so long, like a failed arbitration offer before my 2006 divorce, and 2004 negotiations over my personal bankruptcy that was paid off in 2008. I decided that keeping those documents amounted to self-flagellation--and shredded all but the closeout materials. All told, I shredded three bags of stuff that day. I--and my file cabinet--felt a lot better.

Consider taking a look at what you're saving--and why. Maybe, like me, you'll find that traveling lighter--physically, emotionally, and spiritually--can be a good thing.
Friends in Faith: Rest in Peace, Shannon Wine
About two weeks ago, a good friend messaged me that she'd seen on social media that our mutual friend Shannon Wine, had suffered a brainstem hemorrhage. The following day, Shannon was declared brain dead.

Shannon wasn't a small woman, but she moved like someone gliding on air. While we all met at a writers' conference, I don't remember ever reading any of her writing. I do remember her throaty laugh and her "LOVE YA!" at the end of every conversation, in person or on the phone.

Shannon was fifty when she died, working as a special ed teacher. She loved to laugh, and she loved Jesus. I'm sure she was ready to meet Him in heaven, since she found it so easy to encounter Him in her home state of almost-heaven, West Virginia (pictured here).
Shannon was an organ donor, and it's fitting that the first match made was for her heart. It beats on in some lucky soul in Florida.

I try to write a little each month about a friend whose faith inspires me, and I'm sorry I didn't introduce you to Shannon while she was on earth. I do hope that this month, you'll say thank you to a friend like Shannon while you still have time.
On the Nightstand: Redeemed, Revisited
in addition to being sisters in Christ, Pam Spano and I are sister fan girls of Heather King, who has described herself as an ex-attorney, recovering alcoholic Catholic convert (and who I think is among the best memoirists writing today). So when Pam messaged me the blue cover of Redeemed: Stumbling Toward God, Sanity, and the Peace That Passes All Understanding, my response was something along the lines of "Yippee! I know what I'm reading for March" and promptly ordered it.

Except... a couple days later, I ran across Redeemed with the rosary cover among my books. No wonder I thought it'd be good March reading--I read it in March 2018!

Now I remember loving the humor, bite, and unflinchingly honesty in Redeemed. And while I wouldn't exactly call re-reading Heather King "comfort food," I'm looking forward to tasting this book again.
C'mon, Get Happy--for Free!
For some of us, the pandemic has been an opportunity to appreciate the small joys in our lives. Whether or not that's been the case for you, I hope you'll consider joining a free Zoom gathering on Saturday, March 20, at 2 p.m. ET to get author and speaker Patricia Lorenz's take. In addition to writing a book on the topic, Patricia is a longtime contributor to Daily Guideposts and Chicken Soup for the Soul series (and has been a good friend of mine for nearly twenty years). Future with Hope Women, an endeavor for Catholic women 40+ I'm involved with, is the sponsor, and the Arlington Diocese Council of Catholic Women supports the event.

Patricia is known both for her wisdom and her humor (as if you couldn't guess from this photo; though she lives in Florida now, she's a longtime Green Bay Packers fan). I hope you'll join us, but space is limited for this free event, so please register today.

May your March be full of beauty and joy!

Blessings, Melanie