August, 2007 I’m anxiously awaiting the results of my daughter’s ultrasound. Last night,she dropped off our two grandsons so she and her husband wouldn’t be late for the early morning test. Rather than call us with the news, she will tie a pink or blue balloon to the mailbox. At seven and four years of…… Continue reading WAITING
Tag: Nursing Stories
TIMING IN LIFE IS EVERYTHING
The policewoman at the Motor Vehicle Agency said she would make me look great. She must have read my mind. I was sick of having a drab face looking back at me whenever I took out my North Carolina Drivers License. Earlier that morning I had rummaged through a motley assortment of make-up supplies in…… Continue reading TIMING IN LIFE IS EVERYTHING
WHAT DOES AGE HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
I made an ageist comment. It didn’t seem ageist at the time. I was sitting in the second row of a packed room at Flyleaf Bookstore in Chapel Hill as Pat Schneider finished reading from her new book, How The Light Gets In. I came to hear Pat for two reasons. One, I wanted to…… Continue reading WHAT DOES AGE HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
WRITING RETREAT
“Something looks back from the trees,/and knows me for who I am.” — American poet, Jane Hirshfield. I spent five days at Wildacres in Little Switzerland, North Carolina at a writers’ retreat: The Powerful Narrative lead by Carol and Bill Henderson this past September. My good friend, Lois Roelofs, flew in from Chicago to join me. Without phones,…… Continue reading WRITING RETREAT
WHITE AMARYLLIS
In my last post I wrote about the trauma surrounding my cancer diagnosis. In spite of mostly negative consequences of living as a “cancer survivor” there were a few positive occurrences. For example, meeting special people I would have never encountered under normal circumstances. A month after my mastectomy I joined a cancer support group…… Continue reading WHITE AMARYLLIS
MEMORIES OF MICU
I recently toured a new state-of the-art medical building. The family/visitor side could have been a luxurious hotel. Original paintings by local artists hung on the walls of lounges with soft sofas and recliners illuminated by diffuse lightening. The operating rooms and intensive care units on the opposite side of the building, out of sight…… Continue reading MEMORIES OF MICU
HELLO BEAUTIFUL
The guy on the motorcycle looked like Jeff. My heart did a flip. His muscular arms jutting from his T-shirt were tan. Of course not like the arms of the guy I knew as Jeff. His were thin and weak. But I imagined this is what Jeff would have looked like before his accident. I…… Continue reading HELLO BEAUTIFUL
SWEEPING AWAY THE PAST
My friend and mentor, Carol Henderson, wrote this for our local newspaper. It is a fitting supplement to my last post: Family Stories. May 14, 2013 One of my cousins recently sent out a letter about our grandparents on my dad’s side, giving us some details from their lives. None of us knew much about…… Continue reading SWEEPING AWAY THE PAST
WRITER IN RESIDENCE
I spent part of last week at the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines, North Carolina working on my memoir. There was a sign on the door, DO NOT ENTER, WRITER IN RESIDENCE, which led to the hallway where I and another writer had accommodations. My room was the Paul Green room and the second was the Thomas…… Continue reading WRITER IN RESIDENCE
GET ON WITH LIFE
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. ~C. Northcote Parkinson, 1958 This Tuesday I leave for a four-day stay at a writer’s center not far from my home. As an act of desperation, I will seclude myself with my manuscript and concentrate on incorporating changes that have been percolating in…… Continue reading GET ON WITH LIFE
Getting Older: Charting the Uncharted 