I’ve written before that I am a lot like my mother. But I developed my attitudes toward work by watching my father. My earliest memories of my father at work date back to when I was in pre-school. When he was in graduate school earning his Ph.D. in metallurgy, he […]
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Spring Has Sprung. Maybe. Finally. Again.
Forsythia have always signaled spring to me. Yellow is not my favorite color, but the appearance of these cheery flowers on the dead branches of winter brightens my mood. Every year, whenever they choose to appear. This year, the forsythia did not appear until April. Some years I see them […]
Continue readingChinese Landscapes – Ancient and Modern – and the Search for Spiritual Order
One of my favorite oases in Kansas City is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. I go there when I have a spare hour or two. Last week I went to the Nelson’s special exhibit entitled “Journey through Mountains and Rivers: Chinese Landscapes Ancient and Modern,” and came away with a new […]
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Humor Amidst the Tears
I wrote on Monday about the tragedies of Alzheimer’s, which are real and heart-wrenching. But there are moments of humor as well. Two of our family’s amusing stories occurred in May 2010, not long after my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Several family members had gathered in New Orleans for […]
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One Family’s Journey into Alzheimer’s – Keeper, by Andrea Gillies
If you want to know what it’s like to live with someone with Alzheimer’s Disease, read Keeper: One House, Three Generations, and a Journey into Alzheimer’s, by Andrea Gillies. Gillies, a British author, and her family took her in-laws into their home when the older couple could no longer live […]
Continue readingPhoto Finishes
One of the challenges in writing this blog is finding pictures to suit each post. I’ve read that adding pictures to a blog makes it much more attractive to readers, so I have tried to include images of some type with most posts. Many of my pictures come from Microsoft […]
Continue readingMy Mother’s 80th Birthday: The Meaning of Decades and of Days
I have mentioned before that my mother has Alzheimer’s. The last few years have been hard on our family, as we have watched her abilities decline. We recently moved her into an assisted living facility. Today, March 4, 2013, is her 80th birthday. We celebrate the milestone, while we reflect […]
Continue readingUrban Rain, Suburban Snow, Waiting for Spring
I just spent nearly three weeks caring for my daughter who broke her leg skiing. She lives in an urban neighborhood in Seattle. I’ve never lived in a truly urban environment, one with stores and restaurants within easy walking distance, so this was a new experience for me. While I was […]
Continue readingMusic from My Grandmother’s Hands, and Mine
My grandmother’s red-lacquered nails clicked lightly on the keys as she played the piano. She played classical music and big band songs, her hands flying over the keyboard to bring melody and harmony from nothing. The taps of her manicured nails only added to the music in my young mind. […]
Continue readingAccidents on the Oregon Trail: Catherine Sager Pringle
This past week, while I’ve been caring for my daughter with a broken leg, I’ve thought about the injuries the pioneers to Oregon suffered on their journey. Accidents and disease were much greater risks to the emigrants than Indians, despite what we see in Western movies. One of every seventeen […]
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