Albert didn't talk much. He leaned quietly forward as his daughter kissed him on the cheek, reassuring him she would be back to get him after work. "Don't go. Please. I want to go with you." His daughter's eyes welled up with tears as she gave him one more kiss, one more hug, and turned and walked out the door. Someone took Albert's arm. "Are you hungry, Albert? Your friends are having breakfast!" And within a few minutes, Albert was sitting at the table with 3 other men living with Alzheimer's. Sam talked endlessly about the war, forever fixing his shirt and pants, making sure his "gig line" was straight. He saluted everyone - all smiles. But Albert continued to look around, seemingly frightened, every few minutes asking if someone could please call his ... View Post
Confessions of An Empty Nester
It is AMAZING to me, in the short span of only 7 months, how much I've learned about myself since becoming an "empty nester." (Please, do not get having learned much about myself, mixed up with the notion that I have somehow "grown." I have not. Not yet, anyways). Being bored for a few hours today, I googled "empty nester" and the most bizarre things came up, from suggesting I study Buddhism, to taking tennis lessons, all the way to taking a sabbatical in India. Um, NO thanks, NO thanks, and NO THANKS! I left home at 18, traveled the world, lived in 4 different countries outside of the United States before the age of 30, raised two kids by myself for 21 years, and graduated from college a second time while they were still teenagers............. So, I'm pretty confident I'll ... View Post
“You’ve Got to Think About Yourself” She said!
Chatting with a girlfriend of mine, she suggested that I needed to get out more. "Do something for yourSELF," she said. We texted ideas back and forth, and "Painting With A Twist" sounded like the most fun, so we got out our calendars, picked a date, and scheduled it! This girlfriend of mine is a few years older than me, is enjoying her children being away from the home with their own families, is excitedly anticipating retirement, and is just LOVING being a grandmother. You can't help but notice how she lights up at the mention of her grandchildren. So, knowing she is 10 years more "wise" than I am, I figured she was right. I ought to, and I deserve to, do something "for myself!" Right? Right. I believe she said something along the lines of "You have to think of yourSELF once ... View Post
Good Old Days, Good New Days….
Strolling the aisles of Bronner's "The World's Largest CHRISTmas Store," I picked up every tree ornament that reminded me of my sons. Every year when they were very young, they would each pick out an ornament, so that one day, when they grew up and moved out, they would have not only a good start at an ornament collection, but a tree full of childhood memories as well. For years, our Christmas tree looked like something in a Disney store, decorated childishly, yet adorably - with Buzz Light Year, Woody, Nemo, cowboys & Indians, and every baseball or hockey player that my sons admired. This past year, I passed all of Rory's ornaments on to him to decorate his first Christmas tree with his new bride. I am sure his ornaments looked silly to he and his wife THIS year, but I am praying ... View Post
A Step-Mom, Put in Her Place! (By Jessica Pearson)
Hi, my name is Jessica, and I am…a step-mom. There, I said it. Wow, what a word with so many connotations, yes? Step-mom. I am one, and I have had two. The word and the state of being a step-mom has numerous connotations. In my eyes, they are motherhood (which encompasses a stratosphere of its own connotations), nurturer, lesson-learner, lesson-teacher, teacher of life, social worker (depending on your family situation), chef, care-taker, nurse, planner, chauffer, entertainer, entertainee, barer of pain, sorrow, grief, and loss, barer of immense joy, love, and happiness. It has, however, been through my life’s journey, but especially my journey through step-motherhood, that I was lead someplace immeasurably special. It is said that Satan will fill your life with distractions to ... View Post
The Last Dance
Hearing the frustration in the young woman's voice as she tried to comfort and reassure her confused, dying father, reminded me of days so many years ago, though the years seem at times like only weeks. She was doing some sort of work on her laptop while her father was lying in bed, confused, trying to get out every few minutes, and interrupting her often. I couldn't help but remember back when Dad became confused. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to reassure her. I wanted to tell her that everything is going to be okay. But that would be a lie. He is going to die. She knows it, and so do I. So, how do I comfort her? Finally, I just felt the nudge to walk over, stoop over, and whisper to her that I had just 10 years ago lived through this with my Dad. Once I acknowledged her ... View Post
Doing The Right Thing
I've thought of my Dad in the past two to three days more often than usual, and even last night as I went to bed, was just missing him so much. This morning when I opened the cupboard for my favorite coffee cup, this one - though always in the same spot each morning, caught my eye, and again I was reminded of Dad. I had to grin, and have a little giggle. My sons had gotten it at a second-hand store for their Papa, who would always ask for "just a half cup of coffee." They were little then, and couldn't wait to surprise him with it and make him laugh EVERY time he came over. And, each time, Papa would pretend to be surprised, and laugh all over again, just for them. Dad had the best laugh, the best grin, the silliest sense of humor, and charmed anyone within 100 feet of him. ... View Post
About My Inheritance
"Robin Williams' Daughter Speaks Out as Estate Fight Heads for Mediation" Those were the headlines I first read this morning after a long, much-needed 10-hour sleep. I sat back on the couch as I read, and it just made me sad...... All of that fighting - over a bunch of "stuff." I once cared for a woman whose daughters could not get to the hospital in time for her death, and she was too uncomfortable to fight long enough to wait. I'll never forget it. She spoke one word at a time to myself and another gal, in between fighting just to breathe. She was able to write down on a napkin a message she wanted us to give her daughters, indicating which of them would inherit her ruby necklace and which would receive her diamond earrings. When the daughters arrived, they ran to their ... View Post