Mike and I were very different personalities. We had varied shared interests, along with our individual ones. We learned how each of us needed to move through the relationship, and over time adjusted how we interacted. He trusted my opinion on decorating our home. I trusted his on which wine goes with what meal. We […]

For my sister, “Let’s go” used to be defined by coaxing her two sons to get out of bed, ready for school and in the car before being late. However, at the ages of 80 and 82, she and her husband have drastically turned to a whole new chapter. My sister and her loving husband […]

For more than a decade, starting in the mid ’80s, members of my family made trips to Prince Edward Island. My brother-in-law John, for whom PEI is akin to paradise, often took the lead in planning these excursions. We had limited funds, so we pooled our resources to get the most out of our vacations. […]

There was no stopping me as I burned the candle at both ends before my “let’s go have fun” mojo disappeared a few years ago. I’ve rediscovered the mojo, but it feels radically altered, with little desire to participate in many of my old activities. Gone are the days of regular, elaborate dinners with wine, […]

Professionals often have opportunities to attend out-of-town meetings. I attended one just after I moved to a new church. The timing is never convenient. However, I found the setting both comfortable and comforting. We were hosted by a famed author-speaker (whose name the reader would recognize). He had not only best-sellers to his credit but […]

My first plane trip was to Japan in 1959. I was 5 years old. Dad had received his orders – three years stationed at Tachikawa Air Force Base. We were so many and so young, we had a group passport picture: My harried mother stood clutching my baby brother Tom, four kids under the age […]

“Let’s go!” my dad said as he put the car in gear and rolled down my grandmother’s driveway. “This will be a great adventure.” My mom watched my grandmother wave goodbye from the lace-curtained window. We did not want to leave Mémère’s home. It was warm and loving. We had been living with her for […]

It was on my bucket list – but could I do it? I did know that I couldn’t imagine anything more thrilling than jumping out of a plane into the great blue beyond. So, one evening after I’d had a glass of wine, I opened the offer in my inbox. Before I could rethink it […]

A guy sitting next to me in a college class said: “I’m going to audition for a campus play, let’s go!” The new me said: “Sure. Sounds like fun!” The old, too-cool-for-high-school me would have come up with a dozen fictional excuses. (Acting galore in life, not on stage.) I auditioned, was cast and rehearsed. […]

Some time after my mom died, I received a wonderful present from my cousin Linda, daughter of one of my mom’s younger sisters. It may have been a phone call, or a conversation during one of my visits to my home state in the Midwest; I can’t recall. Her gift of words about my mom […]