Tony! Toni! Tone! Archives - The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally

In therapy, people often talk about anniversaries of important, powerful, sometimes traumatic days.

For me, a traumatic anniversary is November 22, when I got my first cardiac pacemaker at 10 years old on the same day that President Kennedy was assassinated.

Today is a happy anniversary for me — the day my husband Michael and I got married!

I’m celebrating our anniversary by starting a 12-day vacation from work, getting a bone scan, returning a defective part from our new shower, hanging with my son Aaron and our cats, working on my original songs for my show/live album recording in June, going out to dinner with Michael, and creating this blog post for you.

Just watch me as I look for “anniversaries” on YouTube.

What are important anniversaries for you?

Thanks to all who help me create and celebrate anniversaries, including YOU.

Try to imagine my tone of voice as I say any of the following statements:

Every year, I wait for the arrival of spring.

Spring is my favorite time of year.

I LOVE walking outside in sunny weather, feasting my eyes on the flowering trees and all the other brilliant colors of spring.

For years, I’ve done all I can do to take a week off from work in spring to enjoy the blossoming colors after the long Boston winter.

Last year, the local weather in May was predictably beautiful, but I had heart-related surgery during my week off, so I couldn’t really enjoy it.

Two years ago, I had pneumonia during April and May.

This year, I need to travel to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, at the end of May to consult with a cardiologist.

I was afraid that trip to the Mayo Clinic might prevent my taking off a week earlier in May to enjoy Boston’s spring weather.

However, I was able to take two weeks off from work in May this year.

It was gloriously sunny on the first day of my May-stay-cation

Since then, it has been rainy and cold.

I just looked at the forecast for the rest of the week AND THERE IS NO SUN OR WARMTH IN THE FORECAST.

What is the tone of this post, so far?

Yesterday, while it was rainy and cold, I met up with my friend Tony, whom I often affectionally call “Tone.”

Tony and have known each other for forty years!!!!!!! We’ve experienced many tones of life, along the way.

I say this with no tone of irony, sarcasm, or fear of being contradicted by him: Tone and I are BFFs (Best Friends Forever, Tony, in case you don’t know what that means).

I remember writing something to Tony, years ago, that began like so:

Tony! Toni! Tone!

Here‘s the band Tony! Toni! Toné! performing a relevant song:

It never rains in Southern California, but I’m here in rainy Boston, now, which gives me the opportunity to practice all the beautiful tones of forgiveness, patience, acceptance, and appreciation of what is, in every moment.

What tones do you see in the other photos I took yesterday?