As quoted in an Atlantic article (12/2/12), psychological researcher Ellen Cole says, “Seventy is a major milestone for women—a wake up call." She goes on to say, “It’s the age at which, according to Pew, most women think ‘old age’ begins.” Wow. This struck home as I’m on this year-long celebration of turning seventy. I …
Category: memoir
Who am I at seventy?
Do you ever ponder who you are? Now don’t get spooked, but I like to mull over who I am. Think, before you read further, of how you would describe yourself. Like others, I usually describe myself in terms of the roles I play: sister, wife, mother, grandma, nurse, teacher, friend, writer. But these don't …
Untapped potential? Try the Tennessee Fitness Spa.
I never heard of wallyball until two weeks ago when my friend Marianna and I spent three days at the Tennessee Fitness Spa. To celebrate turning seventy this year, we wanted to do something new, something different, and something a bit crazy. A fitness spa deep in the TN woods, home to a Natural Bridge …
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Nurses are Lifelong Learners (Part 2)
A few months ago, I wrote about looking forward to going back to school. Back to the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults at the University of Chicago. I'd completed three of the four years a few years ago and had a feeling in my bones that I wanted to complete that last year. …
Think about writing the November Novel. Only 1667 words a day. For encouragement read Chris's blog posted above. I wrote one a few years ago and some day I will get back to it for revision and edit. It was a lot of fun! Lois
Nursing Reunion Becomes Spiritual Retreat
"If only" runs through my mind as I remember our 50th reunion of a week ago. Twenty-nine of forty classmates (three have died) met at Camp Geneva in Holland, Michigan, from Tuesday afternoon through Thursday morning. Many of us, as proud members of the Blodgett Memorial Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1962, had not …
“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…”
Oh, how I loved hearing Mr. Rogers sing his song. It meant peace and quiet for a half hour as my two toddlers settled down to spend time with this gentle psychologist-turned-TV neighbor. Today, as I was walking back from a Metra ride to a northern suburb for a writing class, the phrase started singing …
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Using Photos to Write Memoir – Part 3
In Part 3 and the last of this series, I'm happy to tell you about a really fun memory from living in Lafayette, Indiana, from third through seventh grade--swimming in the Columbian Park pool with my friends on summer afternoons. The pool was very large and round. The deep part was in the middle. The …
Using Photos to Write Memoir – Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, photos of my childhood home in Lafayette, Indiana, fifty-eight years ago and now, prompted many memories, all which could spin off into stories perfect for writing a memoir of that period. Today, the photos are about the schools and church I attended during those years from third through seventh …
Write Along with Me 