The virus which we have been watching for several months now, first hearing about it in January, has now taken center stage. It is front-page news, interior news, and back page news. It is everywhere. Facebook is full of it. Vitriolic, angry people arguing about who did what and where the virus came from, plus angry political slants and slanders. So we can all make a choice. We can use our time to focus on the virus or focus on…
Enforced shelter in place rules are onerous for some but not for me. Of course, I am careful. The unusual thing that happened this morning made me aware of how a few things have changed during my time here. Today I had to go to the bank. In order to do that, I had to make an appointment with a banker. He opened the bank door for me so I did not have to touch anything. The whole time I…
Here is all you need to know if you are worried about the Chinese Flu Corona Virus.
It is amazing what huge amounts of information computers are able to supply. The Internet makes everything connected.
In troubled times it is helpful to remember that adversity comes and goes like the weather. Dogs keep us company and love us no matter what happens.
This new Virus came out of China, and is being used to terrorize the west. It is being hyped by the press to unseat the President. But you will live through it.
Watching the young travel the streets on scooters brings home the fact that we are older.
“When you finally learn that a person’s behavior has more to do with their internal struggle than it ever did with you? you learn grace.” That is a critical point. We never know what troubles others are dealing with alone. And therefore we cannot judge them, nor should we. Judging others is one of my gravest faults. Originally, growing up, it was the family culture. Unfortunately, it was traditional to start talking about our guests as soon as they left…
One of the worst fights I ever had with my sister happened in a car in Scottsdale, Arizona. We were together with our mother at the Elizabeth Arden Spa called Maine Chance. Mother brought us both out there along with her as a family. Usually, only my sister Dede went with Mother. It was their time to be together and bond without any interference from other siblings, family members, husbands, or children. They always had a great time sharing a…
All that matters is that your loved ones are healthy, that you have done your best, and that you are grateful for all you have. Sifting through my mothers’ belongings before we sell her house is a revelation. She loved pretty things. She collected many of them. But she was not a hoarder. When she bought new clothes for a season, she would cull her old clothes and send some to cousins, or she consigned them, others went to “Goodwill”…
When the alarm went off this morning, my body jerked awake, startled. My dreaming had been so deep and thrilling. Populated with so many characters, places, colors, and a babble of language and unfinished thoughts, and then?consciousness and reality arrived. Ouch. My warm little smooth haired miniature dachshund Sisi nestled in the curve of my bent knees warm as toast under the covers. For years and years, a duvet and a top sheet have been my only “blanket.” But for…
Aging brings clarity as the reflection in a mirror gives the impression of truth only backward. Age gives us a false sense of knowing. Wisdom understands this error in thought and considers it. Yet the truth is what is needed. To sort out from the other detritus, the bright, beautiful realness of affection and connectedness serenity is required. Knowing what is reliable and safe creates a sense of security. And in the bosom of one’s family, there is peace and…
My memoir about living with and caring for my mother is still not ready for publication. Unfortunately, this last year was not conducive to deadlines or serious revisions. It is hard to do that when you are living in the thick of what you are writing. I could see that it was coming to a close. There was no way to know when, though. The year remains blurry, cloudy, thick. It is hard to remember individual days because they are…
I had no inkling that the year would end as it has. January was a bit slow with some little show of snow and my birthday spent with my class from the Capital Speakers Club at the Rodarte exhibit. I spend hours looking out of the picture window in the Garden Room, watching the antics of the squirrels and the birds and occasionally other wildlife. One day as I was sitting at my computer looking halfway to the outdoors over…
Describing the funeral of my mother who was 101 years old. It was a great service and a great party afterward.
