I could not have said it better. Reblogged from the Chicago Writers Association. Can We Call This Thing Off, Already? by Samantha Hoffman I've had it. I'm over this pandemic. I've had it up to here with living this history, something to tell my grandchildren which I'll never have because I never had children, and I can't …
Continue reading Pandemic quarantine angst? Blow off some steam today!
It’s four o’ clock on a Wednesday morning here in beautiful South Dakota and I am still awake. Doesn’t that opening line sound a bit like “Well, it’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, my hometown…” I’m not sure why I’m still awake, but there are two likely reasons. I came home last …
Continue reading A Ordinary Kitchen Story During Extraordinary Times
On my recent trip to New Zealand, I was able to meet Judith Baxter, a long-time blogging friend. The ability to meet folks from around the world is a special perk of blogging. What a treat to meet in person! Neither of us ever thought this possible. Read her delightful account of our short time …
Wash, wash, wash your hands Twenty seconds at a time Merrily, merrily, merrily, Don’t even try to mime! I’m writing this blog post from the Tasman Sea, about 9,000 miles from my home in South Dakota, USA. This sea is between New Zealand and Australia and is known to be “incredibly dangerous.” At the time …
Surprises happen most days in my newish-widow life. Fun things like trying to shovel thick sheets of ice off the driveway when no amount of pushing and grunting will dislodge an inch. Or trying to get excited about making dinner when I don't yet know my way around a grocery store. Or trying to keep …
Continue reading Grief at Nineteen Months: Blindside Wipeout and Surprise Mochas
“Here I sit by a fire pit at a lovely resort in Arizona contemplating...” Three years ago this month I wrote that opening to a blog post. Today I can write the same thing; I’m at the same place. But much of my personal life has changed, mostly related to the loss of my husband …
When I turned 72, I used this same "gratitude" blog title. Musing over the past year and a half since Marv died, I can write with the same sentiment today. To catch up, I spent Christmas in Aruba with my daughter and family. You may remember we were there two years ago also, just a …
Thank you, Joost van Beek and team at Nurse Recruiter, for selecting my blog to be among their top nurse blogs for 2019. This is their second year for examining nursing blogs, and I've made their cut this year for a second time. I appreciate their dedication to this project! This organization groups their top …
“I heard what happened out there,” the male nurse said, standing on my right side as I lay on a bed in the Emergency Room last week. “Is there anything I can do for you?” Sniffling and dabbing my tears, I said, “No, not really. It’s just that this is the first time I’ve been …
Continue reading Grief at Sixteen Months: Traumatic Flashback
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?
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