As the sun moves toward the horizon, seven people sit around a table on my son Anthony’s stone patio—two women, four men, and one white haired crone. Two of the men are my sons, but I haven’t been with both of them at the same time since December. That afternoon, David and I buy food […]
Someday soon we all will be together If the fates allow Until then, we’ll muddle through somehow.* *Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (lyrics by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane, 1944) I recommend the article Have Yourself a Merry Little 2017 by Bruce Handy in the New York Times. Handy reflects on the meaning and relevance of […]
In 2009, the year after my husband Vic’s death, my sons and I created a solstice ritual. In Solstice Blessings: A Family Ritual of Remembrance and Love, I wrote about that first of many rituals of love and remembrance. We were on to something good. Winter Solstice, the dark season in the northern hemisphere with its promise of coming light, is a perfect […]
In the dark days before Winter Solstice, I take stock of where I am and wonder where I’m going. December questions match the season and my time of life. How will I spend my precious days this year? What do I want to write about? Is it time to move from my house? What matters most now? […]
I sat in the front row of Weiskotten Hall in Syracuse, NY, just a few seats from the poet Joyce McAllister. We’d come for the launch party of The Healing Muse 2016. I came to read my prose piece about my brother’s death. Even more, I wanted to hear other’s read and connect to this community. A woman bent […]
I know you’re scared. I know you’re worried about the world. I know you’re uneasy about a future that feels out of control. I feel you grasping and holding tight, but that won’t help. You want to protect the elderly from a government that doesn’t care for the aging and infirm. You want to protect […]
“Instead of getting angry, nurture a deep caring and respect for troublemakers because by creating such trying circumstances they provide us with invaluable opportunities to practice tolerance and patience.” ― Dalai Lama “She’s amazing,” the nurse practitioner said as she discharged my mother-in-law Virginia from the hospital. “Funny and strong. Her heart is powerful. She looks […]