He’s sweet. He’s kind. He never holds a grudge. He takes nothing personally. He has no ego. He takes the high road. No, I’m not talking about spiritualist Eckhart Tolle, but I could be. My dog Simon is all these things but has one MAJOR flaw that’s driving me insane. Simon is 13-years-old and incontinent. […]
Dr. Christiane Northrup was on PBS recently–vivacious, intelligent, and fascinating as ever. She’s a wonderful role model, full of advice about growing older, especially for women. However, one thing she said perplexed me. “Never tell people your age,” she advised her audience. “Don’t celebrate your birthdays, even the milestones. Society will foist cultural conditioning on […]
With thoughts of future moving in our heads, my husband Randy and I face a house that needs serious purging. I won’t name names but one of us (*cough*) has his work cut out for him in terms of streamlining possessions. Randy and I recently started preliminary fighting dialogue on three main areas of contention… RANDY’S COLLECTIBLES: Me: Really? We need to […]
I’ve never been good with hospitals. I shiver when I walk their corridors, reading scary signs on doors—Blood Drawing, X-ray, and Pathology. I feel vulnerable, small, and human. And yet over the past month, as I’ve come to visit my father in this vast Veteran’s Hospital outside New Haven, CT, something strange is happening. […]
On a bright, cloudless day in September 1983 I stood on the deck of the Queen Elizabeth 2, waving goodbye to no one in particular. I was 26-years-old and all around people threw streamers and shouted farewell to loved ones on the Manhattan pier below. Since this was a business trip, I assumed nobody would be […]
The other day my 24-year-old son Patrick invited me to watch a video featuring a band he had played with at a recent gig. When finished, my first response (part mother, part honest) was, “They’re good, but your band’s better.” My son gave me a disappointed look. “We’re not about who is better, Mom. […]
I see him around town sometimes. The other day he was in our neighborhood coffee shop where I heard the lady behind the counter call him Ray. He looks to be in his thirties with brown hair and always wears neatly-pressed khakis and a flannel shirt. A red bandana is usually tied around his neck. […]
If character is defined by what we do, I’m in trouble. Yes, I perform some worthwhile, productive services here and there, but so much is spent on time-wasting drivel. Sometimes I wonder how much better, healthier, and smarter I’d be if I gave up a few of the following…. Spending too much time on Facebook – Between actual friends, […]
My parents just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. I wondered what it’s like going through life with the same person for so long. The other day I asked their secret. The answer surprised me. But first, let’s back up. This story began in 1954 when my 24 year-old father stopped to help a middle-aged woman change a […]
