Caring Lesson Now #5 "Are you okay," said the waitress at Lou Mitchell's this noon. I looked up and saw her face. I was seated at the counter, omelet half eaten, reading the emails on my phone. "I've just gotten devastating news," I said, and explained an unexpected illness of my dearest nursing mentor. She …
Give a “shout out” to Urban Meadows!
Yesterday, the Chicago Tribune featured a story on Urban Meadows, a florist here in Chicago. They state their philosophy on their website: "Just like a flower, people need nourishment to grow." I learned about Urban Meadows when I was a member of the Mental Health Ministry at my church. And have enjoyed their floral arrangements …
Dissertation Revisited
Twenty years ago, I wrote a dissertation to complete the requirements for a PhD in nursing. A flurry followed where I presented papers and posters at conferences on my research. Eight years later, in 1999, I published some of the results in a refereed journal. A highlight for me. Jump to now. A colleague is …
Me, Worms, and my New iPhone
"It's all too much," I've said to my husband, my kids, my friends, and to anyone I've talked to in the last few weeks. I'm talking about technology, more specifically my new iPhone and Kindle. I've spent all my free time learning my phone, and my Kindle still sits here on my desk. And then, …
Are you a nurse?
"Are you a nurse?" asked the woman sitting across from me at Caribou Coffee this afternoon. "Yes, why do you ask?" "I was snooping into your article there on Healthy People 2000." Indeed, I had an article I'd published years ago in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing laid out on the table. My article on …
Sunday – A Bittersweet Day of Saying Farewell
From the Chicago Tribune yesterday: The Rev. John Buchanan retires from Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Sunday was a big day at our church. We're happy for John and his wife Sue. He's prepared us well for his leaving, and we're grateful for his parting message, as quoted in the article above, that reflects the …
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Aruba is Calling
I hate to do this to you twice in one month, but duty calls. The Midwest has gotten too snowy, too cold, too gray. So we're heading to Aruba. Stay warm everyone. We're going armed with books, so I should have some good book reports when I return. And stay tuned for my book blog …
Sun Country, Here I Come
I'm leaving for CA in the morning to join one of my sisters for a fun week in the sun. We both have birthdays soon, so we'll celebrate. Seventies, I'm on my way! If I recall correctly, Ben Franklin, Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali were born on the same day in January as I. …
Have you met AGNES yet?
If not, I met her just the other day in the newspaper, and she’s so true-to-life. In fact, she’s so much like me that I liked her immediately. For one thing, she looks to be about my age—on the eve of seventy—and has the outward signs of infirmities that are starting to visit me—those bodily …
Write Along with Me 