Today marks the beginning of the third year. It was two years ago that I sat in the trauma ICU at my local hospital watching my husband’s blood pressure on the monitor beside his bed. It read 69—and it was slowly dropping. That was the moment I realized the ER doctor’s words had led me … Read more
22 Ways to Say “I Love You” Without Words I wrote this post years ago when Ron and I were celebrating our 57th wedding anniversary. He’s gone now. And sitting with these words today, I find they mean something different than they did when I first wrote them. They feel less like tips and more … Read more
You never know when you’ll suddenly happen upon an unexpected moment of inspiration. I only live a short drive from the Grand Canyon and have visited it many times. I’m not sure what I was expecting but the first time I ever saw it back in 1960, I was a little disappointed. Sure, it was … Read more
Romance on a Budget: The Gifts That Cost Nothing and Mean Everything Valentine’s Day has always struck me as a little backwards. We spend so much energy searching for the perfect expensive gesture when the most romantic moments of my life cost absolutely nothing. Holding hands on a walk. Laughing about something only we understood. … Read more
I was the shy kid through high school. In a graduation class of over 500 students, I was just one of the crowd. I met girls that I had graduated with but had never seen before when I went to a small college. Does this sound like you? Yeh, I know. You are connected with … Read more
Someday Never Came—And That’s a Good Thing I’ve been asked, “How can you stay passionate about life for so long without getting bored or burnt out?” The answer is simple: I’ve made it a journey filled with fun, meaningful challenges, and plenty of growth along the way. One of the biggest traps I see people … Read more
The One Thing You Should Do Before Time Runs Out Lately, I’ve been scrolling through countless emails about how to make better use of my time. You know the ones—tips for productivity, time management hacks, strategies to squeeze the most out of every day. But at 83 years old, I find myself thinking: Do I … Read more
The Secrets to Making Love Last I’m no relationship expert. But I do have experience. Ron and I celebrated our 63rd wedding anniversary just before he died. When we walked down that aisle on a Sunday afternoon in September 1960, we had no idea what the future would bring. Looking back, I can truthfully say … Read more
I’ve been watching this little guy for several years. He lives in our woodpile and ventures out to sun himself on a warm day, to eat, but most often to fill his pouch with seeds and acorns before scurrying off to add them to his winter stockpile. This little ground squirrel is a hard worker. … Read more
Life is What Happens When You’re Busy Making Other Plans We’ve all heard John Lennon’s words: Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. It’s one of those quotes that sounds wise and a little poetic — until life pulls the rug out from under you. Then it stops sounding like … Read more
A few months ago my daughter presented me with a Smart TV. It is considerably smarter than I am. A few weeks after she set it up, it suddenly stopped working. No picture. No sound. Nothing — no matter how many times I jabbed at the remote. First step: change the batteries. Nothing. Next step: … Read more
Quirky Things You May Not Know About Me (or even care to know) During the pandemic, many of us were limited to using the Internet to make contacts with people. And we made a lot of new friends. But you can’t really get to know someone via Zoom, Facebook groups, or other Internet interaction. It’s … Read more