"You say that you didn't want to become a teacher or nurse. But then you became both. Looking back, what would you have done differently?" asked a senior nursing student at Hope College while I was meeting with them last week. An interesting question because it's one my friend Marianna and I pondered many times …
Continue reading 10 Good Things About Being an Older Nurse | Off the Charts (Reblog)
Before you answer yes or no, did you know that the foundational moral principle of all developed countries (around 40 out of world’s 200 countries) is to provide health care coverage to all of their citizens, irrespective of age and financial status? All developed countries, that is, except us. In the past few years, I’ve …
Continue reading U.S. Health Care: Are you happy with your plan?
“Listen actively with respect,” said the speaker, adding “Be succinct and to the point.” Last week, I attended this orientation session to the OLLI program at Northwestern University in Chicago. OLLI stands for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Across the country, 120 such programs exist, all associated with colleges. Having taught group dynamics and observed many …
Continue reading Aging in Chicago: A New Adventure for Fall 2014
“Do you want to do a camel ride,” my daughter asked on a recent visit to her city’s zoo. “No,” I said. “I have no need to ride a camel.” “Oh, come on, isn’t that on your bucket list?” “Nope. Never has been and never will be,” I said, knowing a safari was never an …
I remember: You blaming me for your hips being uneven, ha ha, because you had to carry me around when we lived in New Jersey when Dad was a Chaplain in the Army from 1943-1946. You telling me that, after the war, we shared a bed in West Sayville and, thanks to me, another ha …
I’d never heard of memoir as triologue before I attended the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College a few weeks ago. In a session led by three memoirists, Luci Shaw, noted poet, said she liked to think of memoir as a triologue between the writer, God, and the reader. Most of the session …
Sometimes I get weird questions from people when it comes up that I underline a lot when I’m reading a book. “Why,” they ask, “would you want to mark it all up?” I want to scream, “And why wouldn’t I? Many writers write so beautifully that I simply have to underline their spot-on character descriptions, …
Imagine sitting next to your sister (or anyone), turning to look her in the eye, and saying, for the first time, “You are loved by Christ.” Last week, I did just that while attending the session of Sharon Garlough Brown, pastor and spiritual director, at the Festival of Faith & Writing. Not only that, but …
was my powerful takeaway last week from attending the three-day Faith & Writing Festival at Calvin College. Imagine attending sixteen one-hour sessions, plus two chapels, with speakers whose intentions were to explore the intersection of faith and writing. Consider it an immersion camp on a rolling green campus where newbies quickly learn to shed dress …
For that nurse or nursing student in your life, consider giving them Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self. My career memoir tells my story from nurse's aide to professor emerita and from diploma to PhD. Caring Lessons will inspire the reader that achieving career dreams are possible! I used to tell my …
Continue reading Christmas Present for a Nurse or Nursing Student – 2013
Write Along with Me 