Family
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THANKS MOM
It is hard to believe that the young woman in this photo, a Smith College graduate, would spend the last decades of her life pushing a shopping cart filled with junk and sleeping in a baseball dugout. Such was the journey of my mother pictured above. It is only now I realize that the greatest… Read more
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master of your fate?
“The first 12 years of retirement should be the richest, fullest, most intentional years of your life. Not the most cautious. Not the most careful. The most alive.” That’s Dan Haylett’s advice in, “Your 12 good years.” If only that worked for everyone. Today, as I push my cart towards the automatic doors at the… Read more
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CRY BABY, CRY!
I took this picture in my doctor’s waiting room because it made me sad. Even older people sit on their phones silently scrolling. We don’t talk to each other anymore. For someone who didn’t cry much as a kid, I’ve made up for it in adulthood. These days tears spill from my eyes, often over… Read more
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LOVE LETTER TO OUTRAGE
When I see injustice around me, my blood boils. A switch flips in my head and I go ballistic. Research says that we react most strongly to the things that personally affect us. Our immediate self-interest and personal relevance are the most powerful drivers of our emotional response. The premise is that since I was mistreated as… Read more
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PJs AND BIRTHDAYS
When the first freeze of winter hit, I pulled out my flannel PJs and found only one mismatched pair, which had a long-gone, elastic waistband. They were given to me almost 20 years ago. I did the math and realized that my next pair may well outlive me. So, I purchased these, so I’ll look… Read more
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by
in
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OH, CHRISTMAS TREE!!
For almost every Christmas of my adult life, I’ve had real trees in my home. The smell of pine coupled with the soft twinkle of lights, is magical. In my 20’s, when I lived in tiny apartments, I had little trees in pots which I decorated with miniature decorations. After the holidays, I planted them… Read more
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TRUST IS EVERYTHING
This buck won’t drink outside my window unless he feels safe. He knows I’m here and stares at me to be sure I don’t move. I don’t. After days of this, he has come to trust it here and now drinks every night at the same time. But trust takes time and it starts with… Read more
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MOTHERS: WHERE WOULD BE WITHOUT THEM?
For two years, I’ve watched a pair of eagles mate and brood. Last year, Jackie waited weeks for her eggs to hatch. When they didn’t, she tried again. This year, three hatched but only two chicks survived. Through inclement weather and attacks by predators, she and Shadow have ceaselessly protected and nurtured them. Soon, the… Read more
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ALL IN
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less.” Marie Curie (1867-1934) 10 years ago, I was so terrified of dogs that I rarely visited friends who had them. Then this little one came home. Skylar weighed less… Read more
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FINDING JOY
I ran into this fabulous, 94 year-old at the Vegas airport last week. Her 10 year-old, great-granddaughter, Gianna, who clearly adored her, was pushing her in a wheelchair. “Whatcha readin’?” I asked her. She grinned and said, “Finding Joy.” Then she thumbed through a few pages, turned the book upside down, shook it and… Read more
AGEFULLY AGING 