On a lovely evening sitting around the firepit with dear friends we found ourselves confronting some sobering truths about the future. We met when we were one-child families and have stayed friends as each of our families have grown to include a second child and, inevitably, a dog. In my friends’ cases, make that two … Continue reading A Senior Moment
Category: life
The Color of Thread
When our sons were toddlers, I would invite them to select the color of thread to use for patching holes in their pants. I can picture the soft curls on their heads as they bent over the sewing basket in my lap, tiny hands rustling through the scissors, buttons, and pins before picking their chosen … Continue reading The Color of Thread
In My Own Voice #34: You Never Know What Lies on the Other Side of a Door
When you get in a car, it’s a tricky thing. There is, of course, the pleasure of watching the world go by while you remain snug and warm and without any exertion. But when that door opens, well, you just don’t know where you’ll be when you step outside. Sometimes you are about to embark … Continue reading In My Own Voice #34: You Never Know What Lies on the Other Side of a Door
Sometimes You’ve Gotta Do What You’ve Gotta Do
Pettigrew has been sporting a slow-growing benign melanoma for the past few years. We’ve been watching and hoping it would stop. But it just kept trucking along. Time for a little snuggle on the sofa. You can also see the melanoma if you are interested in that type of thing. It’s quite unsightly. We left … Continue reading Sometimes You’ve Gotta Do What You’ve Gotta Do
Upside Down & Inside Out -or- How My House Tried (Is Trying) To Kill Me
See: (v) perceive with the eyes; discern visually. ---Oxford languages “It took something as life altering as the pandemic to learn that I wasn’t seeing. Rather, I let my expectations dictate my understanding.” While I wish we had never experienced the pandemic and I mourn for all the losses and suffering it has brought, it has … Continue reading Upside Down & Inside Out -or- How My House Tried (Is Trying) To Kill Me
What’s in a Number?
In my post, The Battle Lines are Drawn, I talked about the importance of data in making decisions. And yet there are limits to what numbers can tell us. Sometimes, they mislead as much as they inform. We have all sorts of generalizations about age and can easily fall into the trap of believing these … Continue reading What’s in a Number?
The Battle Lines Are Drawn
Do we allow data to inform our decisions or not? Pettigrew out on a walk. I had thought we were a data-driven family. As a scientist, researcher, and doctor, my husband has a healthy respect for data and its importance in developing a successful course of treatment. Or, so I thought. Apparently, his ability to … Continue reading The Battle Lines Are Drawn
Dog vs. Cat: Transcending Heredity
You don’t need to agree with the late 20th century English-American intellectual Christopher Hitchens on everything, but he did have a point about the difference between dogs and cats. To paraphrase, If you provide dogs with food, water, shelter, and affection, they will think you are God; whereas, if you provide cats with food, water, and … Continue reading Dog vs. Cat: Transcending Heredity
“What could be more important than a little something to eat?” —Winnie the Pooh
“Now then, Piglet, let’s go home.”“But, Pooh,” cried Piglet, all excited “do you know the way?”“No,” said Pooh. “But there are twelve pots of honey in my cupboard and they’ve been calling to me for hours. I couldn’t hear them properly before, because Rabbit would talk, but if nobody says anything except those twelve pots, I think, Piglet, … Continue reading “What could be more important than a little something to eat?” —Winnie the Pooh
In My Own Voice #33: We Need a Sofa Upstairs
A few good things have come from having my family around more: they added soft, comfy furniture to the porches and they took down the gate at the bottom of the stairs. Checking out the new porch sofa. At night, I wait until the lights go out, then I climb the stairs and check to … Continue reading In My Own Voice #33: We Need a Sofa Upstairs
