Virginia Buckingham - Marblehead Current

11 Feb

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: A valentine to a long marriage

Cheryl ByrneColumns, Opinion, Virginia Buckingham

All apologies to Hallmark but my husband David and I don’t exchange Valentine’s Day cards anymore. We didn’t make a conscious or even neglectful decision to stop doing so – no, “Sorry honey I forgot this year” or “these commercialized holidays are stupid” commentary underscored our reasoning. We had no reason at all, as far as I know. And if you wake up to pink paper hearts on February 14 th , I’m neither judging nor jealous. It’s totally great to be wooed that way.…

21 Jan

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: Seasonally content

Leigh BlanderColumns, Opinion, Virginia Buckingham

As I write this, I am sitting by our beautiful harbor on a January morning watching sea birds skim across the surface of the 40-degree water. They seem content continuing their daily rituals regardless of the temperature. A temporary easing last week of the stretch of frigid air didn’t last but it gifted me a sense of contentment, too. Winter is not so bad! Check in with me in a month or so to see how durable this feeling is, but once again, I’m in…

05 Jan

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: An outbreak of optimism

Leigh BlanderColumns, Opinion, Virginia Buckingham

Something’s going around and it’s not just the flu. Everywhere I turned last week, there were lists and columns and stories of things to be optimistic about in 2026. That’s the one bandwagon I’m happy to jump on. What were some of the upcoming developments inspiring hope? They ranged from the very personal to the global economy to everything in between. Starting with health, several observers singled out mRNA technology as the probable answer to new, more effective treatments for all kinds of cancer. According…

22 Dec

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: Fill our stockings with resilience

Leigh BlanderOpinion, Top Stories, Virginia Buckingham

That I spent a few minutes Googling how Americans celebrated Christmas after Pearl Harbor is indicative of the impact on my holiday spirit of the recent violent news cycle. I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. And, as it always does, the past sheds light on the future. Thank you, history. The Christmas of 1941 was just weeks after the devastating surprise attack on the Pacific Fleet. I can’t imagine how Americans managed to inject any joy into their homes in the wake of…

10 Sep

Everything Is Going to be Okay: Pruning and possibility

khthomsonVirginia Buckingham

Tiny flashes of light by the edge of the yard earlier this summer caught my eye. Could it be? When I was a child in rural Connecticut, a favorite summer night activity was sitting on our front stone steps with a glass jar trying to catch fireflies. Within minutes, the jar would be filled, a homemade lantern of delight. When my kids were young, I’d hoped to pass on this simple bit of homemade fun, but we didn’t have any fireflies here that I ever…

04 Jun

EVERYTHING WILL BE OK: Be like Noa

Will DowdOpinion, Virginia Buckingham

We want to be inspired. We want to learn something. We want to cry. We want to laugh. We want to be prompted to think deeply. We want to have our minds opened. Oh, and we want to be shown a path to lifting all of humanity. Yes, these expectations of a successful speech are a hefty burden on a commencement speaker, or any kind of event keynoter. But it seems those addressing almost-graduates have an especially big task — rising to this milestone occasion…

14 May

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: Nests full

Will DowdOpinion, Virginia Buckingham

My backyard feathered friends are back in force, and wow, are they noisy. The cacophony of the birds in the morning is deafening and I love it. Welcome home! The author’s backyard is filled again with birds. CURRENT PHOTO / VIRGINIA BUCKINGHAM I use my birdsong-identifying Merlin app when I take our pup April out in the morning or evening to put labels to the competing noises. One recent sample of the backyard-bird-crew: House sparrow, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, Carolina wren, American robin, red-bellied woodpecker,…

30 Apr

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: Rudi and me

Will DowdOpinion, Virginia Buckingham

One of the great joys of doing book talks is the opportunity to meet new people with fresh insights into your story. In turn, these talks sometimes can spark members of the audience to have new insights into their own lives. Both are gifts to the writer. And sometimes I learn something related to my story but completely new altogether. That was the case at a book event held this spring in Florida. My friend and Marblehead neighbor invited me to a condo association fundraiser…

05 Feb

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: Be like Ed

Will DowdColumns, Opinion, Virginia Buckingham

So much has been written and said about our friend Ed Bell, that I don't think anything I could add about his kindness and character is worthy. So instead, I am going to focus on this lesson, of many, I learned from him: Live to your very last breath. That sounds counterintuitive, of course we breathe until we don't any longer. But that doesn't mean we're living purposely. Ed did — live purposely— every single minute of his 84 years. I didn't know him for…

22 Jan

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: On notice

Will DowdOpinion, Virginia Buckingham

I consider myself a pretty observant person. If you're wearing a new sweater, or just got your haircut, or re-arranged your living room artwork, I'm likely to notice and comment/compliment. If you're feeling out of sorts, or having a particularly bad (or good) day, I also tend to pick up on mood clues. I'm not talking about the buzzy "mindful" way of being, which I try and mostly fail at, just the normal everyday taking note of my surroundings, human and otherwise. Therefore, I'm a…