Salty like hot dogs (and tears). Sweet like marmalade (and life).
Below is one of the first pieces I wrote about my mother’s dementia. At the time, I had no idea that we would only have her for another five or so years. Today’s prompt is “Where will you be in 5 years.” Please excuse… Continue Reading “Looking Ahead”
My father was reading Time magazine the other day. “Can you read the date of this?” he asked me when I came in the room. I squinted and read, “July 17, 2000.” “So it’s current,” he said. “No, Dad,” I told him. “This is… Continue Reading “Self-diagnosis”
Partly because Sam just sent me this awesome collage postcard from Hawaii: And partly because the Fenimore Art Museum recently announced that in April they are opening an exhibit called: 50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons. Maurice Sendak: The Memorial Exhibition And partly because… Continue Reading “Where the Wild Things Are”
In 2011, my mind was spinning with all the information being thrown at me. Bladder cancer. Catheter care. Chemotherapy. That summer, my mother had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. As if Alzheimer’s wasn’t enough. As if a second bout with breast cancer wasn’t enough. As if… Continue Reading “The Weight of Struggles”
Remember when I said I would be rusty trying to write again? I was feeling that rust this morning as it seized up my writing gears. Today I wrote a whole post, deleted half of it, wrote a little more, made a meme, considered dropping the whole thing… Continue Reading “The Benefits of Rust”
“Fred” made the mistake of saying the words “crew cut” within hearing of the man with the clippers. “Everybody has a bad haircut story,” I told him. “Now you have yours.” What made the whole thing ironic is that “Fred” had just been to a conference… Continue Reading “Vulnerable”
The ABC’s of how I’m feeling: A is for ANGRY B is for BITTER C is for CRANKY Clearly I’m doing this A-to-Z Challenge all wrong. I feel angry. And not kind. I hung up on Time-Warner yesterday. Told them we were switching to… Continue Reading “Kind”
One of the most precious lessons I have learned (and am still learning) from my mother’s Alzheimer’s is not to take things personally. I have such a tendency to do that! When people say or do little things, and sometimes big things, that are… Continue Reading “My Inner Porcupine”
The other day I walked into the kitchen at lunch to find my mother sitting at the kitchen table with some hot dog buns, a jar of marmalade, a brick of cream cheese, and some leftover chili. She was making sandwiches. The process was… Continue Reading “Orange Ice Dessert”
