My own artwork of stained glass tulips and a riot of Fall colors. Just as I was grieving the view of Fall’s red leaves from my former duplex’s windows, outside my current front room windows a riot of color was developing. Walking through the house, I became deeply aware that my new residence was quickly becoming a cherished home, and I realized how happy I am to be living here. Joy has replaced apprehension; gratitude has overtaken loss. Stranded for five weeks in a neighbori

The backyard is flooded with sunlight and the rambunctious squeals of two small boys as they take turns on a slip-and-slide I’ve...

Four kitties, all black: one hard-of-hearing, another with only one eye, a skittish third with a damaged tail that forms a question mark...

It’s two weeks before moving day. After several months of sorting and packing I’m almost ready, almost there. In my 13 th year of...

Battle lines have been drawn before in my backyard lawn. For the most part I have won by installing gopher discouraging, solar powered...

In April my landlord informed me he was going to put the duplex I live in up for sale. Once sold, I will have 60 days to move out. I knew...

Having never sat on a jury before, this was to be a novel experience for me. Not really wanting to serve but at the same time intrigued,...

The woman my son’s married to is my daughter-in-law. I sometimes refer to her as my daughter-out-law because of her strong inclination...

I watched New York’s colorful, glittering ball drop on television, then brushed my teeth and went to bed around 10pm. My daughter and her...

There’s an old person living in my body. I noticed her a while ago but didn’t give her much thought. She felt familiar enough to be...

My youngest grandsons are 13 and 17 years old. They have been a major part of my life since their first breaths, and regular overnighters...

It’s just two days before the 2024 presidential election. The nation is sorely divided; many are anxious, frightened even, about the...

In today’s world one can’t be too careful. Parents must deal with the possibility of a school shooter. Worshipers may wonder if there’s a...

I’d been whining about our lack of family camping trips for a while. We used to go every Labor Day Weekend –my son and his family, my...

I knew it right away–the monstrous headache and nausea coupled with congestion and coughing. No ordinary cold or allergies, I quicky...

I only just caught my breath from the new year’s arrival and it’s already quickly reaching the halfway mark. Is time speeding up while...

As I think about my life, I realize I’m like a great many other people. Life is not simple and it’s not complicated; it’s both. A lot of...

Today is my mother’s birthday; she would be 113. She died of an aortic aneurysm that burst in her 83rd year.  She smoked numerous...

It’s taken me eight decades to finally absorb a basic truth: pain creates its own memories. Apart from logic, immune from rationality,...

It’s December and I’m turning 80 . . . The number 80 contains the infinity sign tipped upright –and a zero because nothing can be added...