May 04
My cancer diagnosis in 1990 was especially crushing to my husband because he had lost his first wife nearly 20 years before to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) while they were still newlyweds. To watch me face a life-threatening illness and such an uncertain future was like a recurring nightmare. One day as he was riding …
Apr 06
You may or may not be familiar with the 1969 Beatles’ song, “Give Peace a Chance” but years later John Lennon explained its message: “It wasn’t like ‘You have to have peace!’ Just give it a chance. We ain’t giving any gospel here – just saying how about this version for a change? We think we have the right to …
Mar 23
When our grandson Benjamin was four, he was a total Daddy’s boy—as in, the best time of day was when Daddy came home and the worst time was when he had to leave. So it wasn’t surprising when we were together at a local pizza buffet a few years ago and Benny stopped eating pasta …
Mar 08
My younger brother Jim and I invented a game as little kids and for some inexplicable reason we continue to play it now in our late 60s. We call it “Touched You Last.” The rules are simple: When it’s time to part, be the last person to touch the other. Finesse is important as we …
Jan 26
So, this month is my 50th birthday! I know that surprises some of you who thought perhaps I was pushing 70. Well, actually both are true… It was January 1972, my sophomore year of college at THE Ohio State University (some of you are cheering and others are booing—I love you all). My best friend …
Dec 15
I thought it wouldn’t. But it did. It happened again. Kenny G was belting out jazzy, holiday cheer. A burning candle wafted a delicious candy cane scent. I was by myself happily decorating our house for Christmas. I lifted a slightly torn, rectangular box out of the large plastic storage bin and chuckled to myself. This box …
Sep 15
I miss my dad. It’s been a decade since he took his last breath on this earth and I still miss him. Especially during college football season as I’m frantically cheering on my Ohio State Buckeyes (with apologies to all my friends in that state up north!) My dad was an incredible multi-sport athlete, as …
Jul 07
Perhaps you feel a little like a pigeon-covered statue these days or maybe you simply would like to experience a measure of calm in your harried life. Either way, here are some words to the weary taken from “leftover” quotes (including the blog title), which I ended up not using when writing my last …
Jun 09
Raise your hand if you have never been in the military, but you have flown in a C-5 cargo plane? I’m guessing I may be the only one wildly waving my arm. Perhaps at an air show, some of you have had the pleasure of walking around inside the cargo section of the largest U.S. …
May 26
For most of the past four decades I’ve been a caregiver for family members who were either physically or mentally unwell. I’ve had a relative with dementia living in our home for years, and I’ve made biweekly seven-hour car trips for months to be with another one undergoing chemo. I’ve been so physically fatigued I …
