I lost my beloved mother this week — Grief is a bird that nests in your eaves and sings sweetly. You hear, and know, her love is near. The tears fall silently and you smile. Grief is a vulture who pecks out your eyes and rips out your heart, Eliciting howls of pain, Reminding you she is gone. …

How we are coping — Last week my husband and I went to a conference and he came home with Covid. I did not. 2 days after we got home he tested positive. As soon as he saw that double line he set himself up in our guest cottage and made a point of staying…

Why do we grasp the illusion that it can all be good? — I wandered out into my garden this morning and picked a few peaches from the tree. The tree is loaded this year, as it is every year. That seems like it would be a good thing, but there is one caveat. There is a little tiny worm in every one…

Is getting sick our punishment for living with abandon? — My husband and I have been among the lucky ones. We have both avoided getting sick with Covid for over 2 years. We have been careful, though, and chalked it up to being willing to make sacrifices and be smart. We always wore our masks everywhere we went. And we…

And it was all because of the sticker on my car — A while back I decided that I wanted a positive message on my car to counter the negativity, and downright nastiness, of so many of the bumper stickers I see today. I have seen vehicles with expensive custom paint jobs that say F@*k Biden. I have seen bumper stickers glorifying…

A long buried dream rose up and demanded to be fulfilled — “She speaks fluent French.” How can four words — a very simple sentence, really — knock my world sideways and open a long closed door? Here’s how. I was reading about Melody Gardot, a singer I admire, when these words — “She speaks fluent French” — seared my conscious self…

This list can inform the way we live now — We have all heard the trope that no one ever says “I wish I had spent more time at the office” when they are lying on their deathbed. This got me to thinking about all the other things no one ever says when they are dying. We can use this…

But now I am not so sure. — Many people dream of traveling when they retire. They will finally have time to see the world, taste local cuisines, learn about other cultures and meet interesting people. Some people have a bucket list of places they will go when they finally have the time. I admit I have always…

There’s a gap in our lexicon pertaining to our latter years — I turned 60 this year. I celebrated with a group of my dearest friends on a gorgeous spring day. We drank lots of champagne and they toasted the baby in their group, welcoming me to their club. These friends are between 70 and 75 so they felt they were initiating…