I ran into some folks the other day who'd come to pray with Marv two days before his death. I'd not seen them in the interim. "How long has it been?" the man asked. When I said, "Nearly fifteen months," he and his wife shook their heads, as if questioning whether it could be that …
Continue reading Grief at Fifteen Months: How Long Has It Been?
What was there is no longer there: Not his touch, not his words: "I prefer you without clothes" Not the intimacy, legs and arms intertwined with need Not the pillow talk, eyes searching eyes for meaning The diagnosis threatens to separate us We resist. We persist. We don't give it the power it wants. At …
Ants on the bathroom counters. Kitchen cabinet door hanging loose from its top hinge. Battery dead in the Beetle in the garage. Mineral deposits on the home vaporizer rendering it almost useless. (I know I said I wasn't going to write Grace Notes anymore, but never say never. You'll see this situation requires them.) After …
Imagine my surprise last week when my email box showed dozens, then hundreds of notices from WordPress announcing an uptick of activity on my last blog post on my scare with breast cancer. I'm grateful to Cheri Lucas at WordPress for featuring that post under Discover, "a daily selection of the best content published on …
Continue reading Thank you, WordPress Editors and WordPress Friends!
I had a health scare last week that slapped me, once again, into awareness that I’m alone. I no longer have a husband; I no longer am married. After 56 years, I no longer have someone at home who's there for me the minute something goes wrong. There have been many challenges as I’ve assumed …
Continue reading Please! No more cancer. Been there, done that.
Marv passed away six months and fourteen hours ago. I'm feeling it is time for me to move on. To leave these “grace” related posts on dying and death and move increasingly toward my “new normal.” I don’t mind that expression, although I know some do. They say there will never be another “normal.” But …
“Can I help you?“ a butcher yelled from a packaged meat display. A few feet away, I was standing, clueless, in front of an impressive array of glass-encased chunks of red meat. “Yes, I guess,” I bellowed back. When he was situated across from me, I asked, “How many pounds of a chuck roast do …
A miracle happened while Pastor David was pouring the grape juice. Standing in front of him on the pulpit, to his right, I told myself to concentrate on the moment. Focus on his face. Focus on his words. Focus on the flowing of the juice. Today, at nearly 77, I served communion as an elder …
This time I didn’t have to lie on the floor; this time I used the chair. The occasion? A purposeful visit to my closet. I’d awakened the day after Christmas with a feeling of optimism. I’d made it through Christmas with my eyes misting up only once, and that was during the Christmas Eve service …
"Ladies and gentlemen, put your cameras away," our guide yelled into her microphone on the tour bus, followed by a louder, more urgent command, "Guys, no cameras." Such was my introduction to Bethlehem, the tranquil city I'd always sung about: Oh, little town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie Above thy deep and …
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