Brave New Year

Happy New Year, everyone, and here we all are once again. You might notice that I've made some changes to this blog. I'm not yet done. Perhaps I'll never be done, but I needed a change, and I needed it before the new year started. As many of you already know, the last six months…

Her Favorite Song Was “My Way”

In less than six months, I've lost both of my sisters. On July 1, 2022, my sister Shirley passed. And now, my sister Charlotte. Charlotte passed away on November 25, 2022. In the last few weeks, she went from being full of energy and living independently to needing oxygen 24/7 and home health services. Instead…

What’s Going On?

Not much and yet maybe too much. A couple of months ago I signed up for SmokeLong Fitness Community Workshop. It's all flash, all the time. I've since learned that I can write to prompts quite happily if I'm given an example of a response. My creative battery is apparently sparked by other people's creativity. We're…

What Day Is It? And Does It Matter?

I thought Wednesday was Saturday but I knew Thursday was Thursday and, so far, I'm confident that today is Friday (and my calendar says so too). Tomorrow should be Saturday and I just hope I don't think it's Wednesday because I have a couple of appointments and getting my days wrong would really screw things…

The Birthday Card I Will Never Send

August 2 is my sister Shirley's birthday. She would have been 76 today. Here's the birthday card I bought for her a couple of months ago. I think she would have gotten a kick out of it.  During the viewing and funeral in early July, many people came up to me and said I looked…

I’m Running Out of July

I've got only a couple of days before the month of July is over ... to which I say, Good riddance, July! For those of you new to my blog, let me start with the painful acknowledgment of my sister's death late on July 1. For context, I have three siblings and our birth order…

I Could Have Been a Better Sister #grief

I could have been a better sister. I was only nine and you were nineteen when you married and left the family home. As you took your vows, I sat in the pew, steeling myself to be quiet, voiceless cries whirling in my head: "Don't go! Don't leave me!" I was only nine and, although…

I’m Not Okay But I’ll Be All Right #grief

I am going to take a hiatus from blogging and writing online. Not that I've been doing much of either lately but why not make it official. Here's the deal: my sister Shirley is dying. The sister with Parkinson's. The sister who has been dodging health curveballs most of her adult life. The only one…

River Ghosts by Merril D. Smith #bookreview #poetry

I always feel apprehensive when reviewing poetry, maybe more so than when I'm writing the poetry myself. Some time ago, I took an online writing course, and the instructor mentioned in passing that she liked writing poetry because you didn't need to explain poetry like you would explain a story or an essay. While that…

RIP Maxine aka She Who Must Be Obeyed

I couldn't get an appointment on Wednesday with Maxine's regular vet. It was important to us that Dr. C examine her. Continuity of care and all that. I did make an appointment for Wednesday but the vet on duty was one that neither of us really cared for. My husband got upset. Things were a…