Here I sit by a fire pit at a lovely resort in AZ thinking about turning seventy-five. What a year it has been. Last year, when I posted Growing Older: On Turning Seventy-four, I pondered what the next year might bring, not anticipating a move from Chicago to Sioux Falls, SD, and for sure not …
Category: Health
From City Walker to Granny-on-the-go
After six weeks in our new home, I’d say most things are good but some things not. I’ll deal with a few “not’s” today. In my effort to be open to new experiences, I joined my daughter’s fitness center. To my surprise, my husband joined too. Not a problem really, but yesterday we had our …
Growing Older: On Turning 74
For weeks I've been thinking about how I want to spend the rest of my life. I retired 15 years ago and have done everything I wanted to do from attending concerts and plays, volunteering at church, writing a book, and taking a few dozen writing and humanities courses. My thinking about the future started …
Growing Older: Fractured Ribs for Christmas
When a title like this comes to mind, it usually means a story is begging to be told. Well, here’s my story. While a child may sing “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth,” an older woman like me probably won’t sing “All I want for Christmas is a few fractured ribs.” …
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The Truth About Nursing on TV Shows
When I discovered Call the Midwife on PBS a few years ago, I was thrilled that someone in the media finally got nursing right-- nurses as intelligent, knowledge-based, autonomous practitioners. Most TV shows portray us as either bimbos or handmaidens of the physician or both; therefore, I'm happy to share The Truth About Nursing's 2015 …
Fibromyalgia: In Remission?
Living with chronic pain is exhausting. I’ve lived with fibromyalgia for at least 18 years. Most of us with fibro have the pain long before we’re diagnosed, so I don’t know how long I’ve actually had it. And here’s a miracle—I no longer have the pain. How did this happen? Last spring I was visiting …
Growing Older: Getting Use to Embarrassment
I went to a writer’s conference over the weekend. The morning after, I usually wake up filled with ideas about what to do with many unfinished writing projects. Not today. I woke up this morning feeling embarrassed. Why? It took a second to remember. I’d dropped my phone Saturday. More correctly, I’d let it slide …
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Nurses in Hungarian Public Hospitals Plan Third Gathering at Parliament Building
A few days ago, walking near the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, I came upon this tent. As a nurse from the U.S., the words "poor hospital" caught my attention. I wondered if free care was being given--perhaps blood pressure screenings or immunizations. While my husband went on to find a currency exchange, I stopped …
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Nurse Turned Blogger Celebrates Five Years
Dear Readers, Last Saturday, WordPress informed me that I started this blog five years ago. After resisting for a few years while writing my nursing career memoir, Caring Lessons, and being told by writing teachers that I must start a blog, I stopped Helen Gallagher (teacher and blogger extraordinaire) after she gave a presentation at …
Environs
On a flight recently, I spent some time reading blogging friends who have fibromyalgia. Having FM myself, I always marvel at the resilience with which these gals, with chronic muscle pain and oftentimes foggy brains, valiantly face each challenge. Also, on my flight, I read a piece that said we should be thankful for our …
Write Along with Me 