Mom’s heart of love pulled us in. As her memory and skills faded, as grief over the loss of Dad enveloped her, and as her body failed her, she never focused on herself or her suffering. Instead, she brought us together. We came to care for her, to protect her, and to love on her, as she had always done for us.
Read MoreI can still picture it. We’re on a plane and I have the window seat. After hours over the Atlantic Ocean, the landscape that appears below is the prettiest shade of green. Of course it is. After all, it’s called the “Emerald Isle”. Our dream trip to Ireland is about to begin.
Except that it doesn’t.
Read More…But where did that leave me? I had spent eighteen years caring for, teaching, and raising this child. I was his advisor and biggest cheerleader. And then, as fast as you can say “meet me at the dining hall” it was all over. He was off and gone.
Read More…I poured out my own servant-love on my children. It was hard work and though I complained and often grew tired, fully giving of myself had its own rewards. I watched as my children grew, learned, and became less dependent on me.
Then the tables turned. As my children needed less of me, my parents needed more.
Read MoreWhat this is about is the right that every individual has to communicate. Our freedom of speech is so important that our forefathers included it in the first amendment to our constitution. Still, with rights come responsibilities. And it’s what we do with that right, with our gift of speech, that matters.
Read MoreJust as we begin each new year with goals and resolutions, it’s transformative to end an old year well; to reflect on what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown. We don’t always see blessings in the midst of challenges, but events become clearer as we look back.
As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.
Read MoreThis is day four of my time in isolation. Day six since the onset of symptoms.
It was a matter of time. No matter how careful I was in wearing my mask and social distancing, I had seen the virus work its way into the lives of friends and family. It was relentless in finding any small opening in which to infect another unsuspecting soul.
Read MoreThe oak cross between the windows stood out against the wide green cloth behind it. The communion table, also draped in the green cloth of “Ordinary Time,” seemed anything but ordinary to me, as I recalled walking up to that table last March…
Read MoreAs we embark on any new journey, we can find promise and possibility by chasing the joy, rather than focusing on the pain. It’s true for biking. I’ve discovered it’s also true for empty-nesting.
How then, can we chase joy in the empty nest?
Read MoreWhen my husband and I later visited the Big Apple in 2015, we spent over four hours at the World Trade Center 9-11 Memorial. Thinking back, I remembered my high school days and how I had seen the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and other New York landmarks.
But I couldn't remember the World Trade Center. I wondered, "How is that even possible?”
Read MoreYou know how it seemed like everyone was choosing a “Word for 2020” when January rolled around? Is it too late to jump on that bandwagon?
It may be cheating for me to pick my word of the year when the year is two-thirds over, but hey, I still have four months to make it my focus. And maybe I’ll carry it over to 2021, in which case I’m four months early! So I’m going for it.
Without further ado…
Read MoreEven though the tears have mostly dried up, at times the sadness envelops me and I feel that dull ache of emptiness. I often remember the mountaintop days of February 2020, and I’m astounded at how much I took for granted.
Read MoreOn their wedding day, Mom and Dad, like most young couples at the altar, made promises to each other. They committed to being faithful; to love each other “in sickness and in health…’til death us do part.”
They kept those promises for 64 years.
Read MoreWhen it’s all over, I want to remember how strange, different, and in many ways how beautiful, life was in 2020.
Read MoreOnce again, I find myself searching for the light. As a writer, I feel called to shed light and hope on situations that confound. But what should I do when I feel confounded myself?
As a person born into White privilege and with limited exposure to racial diversity, I find myself wanting to do something, but asking, “What? What can I do?”
Read MoreFor most of our lives we think of family as a top-down arrangement. Parents and grandparents care for children. Grandparents advise parents. Older siblings watch out for younger ones.
But at some point along the way, this structure shifts and what feels like the natural order of things flips upside down. As our parents age, we begin to care for them.
Read MoreI’m trying to wrap my head around the idea of becoming a grandmother. It won’t be long now.
I imagine cradling that little bundle, my own son’s child. Beyond that though, I can’t really imagine becoming “Grandma.” Will I know what to do? Do I have what it takes?
Read More…While I’m learning to adapt, my heart goes out to parents with children at home. They’re feeling pressure from all sides. Working parents are now work-from-home parents. Or, working parents whose kids have no place to go. Or, unemployed parents with financial worries. In addition, they’ve become homeschooling parents. And with more people at home, their household management duties have expanded to another nearly full-time job. As if the pressure of a global pandemic is not enough, parents are loaded down with extra work and responsibility.
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