Family
The Great Barometer
Mom didn’t like talking about menstruation, but she did tell me at least one thing: If you’re lucky enough to have a regular cycle, chart it so you won’t be taken unawares. I’m sure she didn’t specifically use those words (Mom would never say “taken unawares,” but that’s what came to mind when I sat…
Read MoreSee You at the Library!
I am so pleased to say I’ll be speaking at Wright Memorial Library in Oakwood, Ohio, on Thursday, September 21. That’s two weeks from today and World Alzheimer’s Day. On that night, I’ll give a behind-the-scenes look at my second novel, The Weight We Carry, which showcases the toll that navigating parents’ health crises can…
Read MoreBaby Birds
Tim and I have never had just one child at home. We went from two adults and two cats to two adults, two cats, and two children in (what seemed like) the blink of an eye. As the years went by, the number of cats changed (and a dog was added and subtracted and added…
Read MoreSorry, We’re Closed
If there’s one thing I’m really good at, it’s turning inward and shutting people out. The behavior isn’t to punish the other person because I’m holding a grudge—it’s to allow me time to make sense of my surroundings and the information that’s overwhelming me. It’s my thinking time, my time to plan an attack, my…
Read MoreOn the Occasion of What Would Have Been Her Seventy-Eighth Birthday
Dear Mom, I haven’t written a birthday letter to you before. Last year, I reflected on your birthday, and I’m glad I did. It was the last we spent with you. I didn’t know it then, of course, but with dementia (as with so many things in life), anything could happen at any time. This…
Read MoreThree Years Ago Today
Three years ago today, I bundled Dad in the car and drove to pick up Mom from where she lived at the time. I looked at Mom and told her we were going on a road trip. That our destination would be a good one. That she’d have a better life. She smiled at me…
Read MoreLife Lessons from Mom
When I stand in front of the classroom, I always tell my new crop of students two things: I talk way too fast—and I know it—and I get the hiccups often. The same would probably apply here if I were to read this aloud, and today, I give you one more warning—I might not make…
Read MoreAt Least a Little While
Here we are, at Wednesday of this week, and so far, I feel like it should be Friday. Actually, it should have been Friday at the end of Monday, but it wasn’t. What a shame. None of the events of the week have been onerous, per se, but because the kids head back to school…
Read MoreThe Waiting Game
Merriam Webster defines waiting game as “a strategy in which one or more participants withhold action temporarily in the hope of having a favorable opportunity for more effective action later.” And while Alzheimer’s will never result in a “favorable opportunity for more effective action later,” nor is there strategy involved, as I sit with my…
Read MoreMinnesota Taco Salad
In mid-January, Tim came home from work and said, “A young person at work is deploying in April, and she might need a place to stay for two months. I told her that Zoe and Talia’s bedroom was empty, and if she needed to use us as a last resort, we’d be happy to help.”…
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