On March 7, 2006, my father died. Only weeks before, amidst the deep throbbing pain of colorectal cancer, his mind wracked with morphine-induced hallucinations, and his voice raspy, Dad dictated a note to my next older sister, Janet. The message was eloquent in its simplicity: “We promise to take care of Mom in the manner …
House originally built in 1555, updated mid-nineteenth century. We scheduled a weekend visit to Görlitz, the easternmost town in Germany located on the Lusatian Neisse River along the border of Germany and Poland, to see its architectural heritage. With a rich history of being conquered and held by various kingdoms, emperors, and states, the village …
Glory and Alex ready for the fruits of their several months’ labor. My son and daughter-in-law planned an utterly surprising (to me), belated birthday (cum retirement) gathering for me in San Francisco with long-time friends on Saturday July 23. I was overwhelmed to say the least by their thoughtfulness and love. Molly (we’re in almost …
Today turned out to be a perfect day for a hike. I unexpectedly had a block of five hours mid-day, the right amount of time to drive to the trailhead of Brainard Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area, hike several miles, and return home before late afternoon events. The smokey air from the recent …
Curls and tucks on Pulley Tower. “Move, move! Stay light on your feet!” My father’s exhortations while we played tennis (he taught, I learned) during the summers of my college years are etched in my mind, his voice too cheerful for the 6:00 a.m. sessions, my frustration at missing lobbed balls evident. My tennis days …
Blue Mountains view from Walla Walla I had visited Walla Walla once when my parents weren’t home many years ago. They were traveling in Europe on a long-planned trip but I needed to determine if that corner of southeastern Washington could become a new home for my barely two-month old son and me. I couldn’t …
Happiness and joy at Alex and Glory’s wedding in April 2016. On this day thirty years ago, Doug and I planned a very small wedding ceremony (with my not-quite five-year-old son, Christopher, our only guest) on Martha’s Vineyard. I envisioned standing on a windswept hill with a lonely lighthouse overlooking the sound, Doug and I …
Success Finally: Water to Wine 10k (2015: five years post-injury) I am a female runner with left deep buttocks and thigh pain, the result of a running-related high hamstring injury. My quest (or differential diagnosis, as I feel like one of the young doctors on “House,” trying to glean a patient’s diagnosis from bits of …
I so enjoyed reading the posts and seeing the pictures of friends’ mothers and friends as mothers these past few days, celebrating women in our lives! I thought of my mother, who passed away two years ago, as I walked around Boulder, the last place she visited before she could no longer travel. Her soul …
Early Tuesday morning March 23, 2016 the incessant beeping of one of our many carbon monoxide detectors woke me. The old-fashioned alarm clock on the dresser blinked “12:00,” the default position when power has been interrupted. Oh, no! Electricity off. I rose and looked out the upstairs bedroom window and was surprised (snow had been …