When my aunt developed dementia after a stroke, she had to move to a nursing home. We asked what possessions she could take along to remind her of home, and were surprised by the answer: Not much. It turns out that clutter tends to make people with dementia agitated. It’s stressful for them. What I […]
I made a Pandora station called Skyrim Soundtrack. It’s all music from video games, and I love it. I made another Pandora station called John Williams film scores. It’s got other stuff I love, especially Howard Shore’s music from all of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, and tunes by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, […]
“The man who is well wears a crown that only the sick can see.” — Sir William Osler. “Today is a good day to have a good day.” — Joanna Gaines. Two of my favorite sayings just came true for me, when I had to stay overnight in the hospital after what I had hoped would […]
I’ve figured out the secret of happiness, and it doesn’t involve money, or technology, or things. Like Dorothy, the Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow, I guess I’ve known this all along. It just took a family reunion for it to come out and shine like a giant lightbulb over my head. I realized that all […]
I can’t stop thinking about Baltimore. I reject the idea of thinking about Black people versus White people. That wasn’t my experience when I lived there, and I don’t believe it’s truly that way now, despite the protests, despite all the words of hate. I remember once driving down to Hopkins Hospital, getting off the […]
I love Baltimore. Two of our three kids were born there. We lived there, moved away, moved back, and have since moved across the country, but we put a total of 15 years of our lives into that city and it’s in our blood. Mark and I moved there in 1987, our worldly goods […]
We were already two minutes late for school, and Josh and I were two lights away from glory, or Prescott Mile High Middle School, whichever came first. Right turn ahead: We had the green light! Yeah, baby! And then I put on the brakes because there was a woman in the crosswalk, crossing against the […]