We visited our daughter in Florida last weekend – the first time we’ve seen her in almost a year and a half. It was a much shorter drive than when we visited our son and his family in Minnesota a few weeks ago. Plus it didn’t involve any overnight stays along the way. Still, we took all the necessary precautions, plus a weekend’s worth of masks and hand sanitizer, as we hit the road. On the few stops we made – for gas or a [...]
Maybe it’s because the weather is getting summery in our part of the country, and we’re able to sit outside on sunny days, waving to neighbors who are also out in their yards. Maybe it’s because we just had out-of-town company, and we’re now enjoying leftover snacks, meals, and memories from when they were here, and the clean house that’s also left over from their visit. Maybe it’s because a few of the clubs and organizations I belong to are starting, cautiously, to meet again [...]
It’s been more than a year since we’ve had company at our house. Real company, not the occasional repairman, delivery person, or someone in the neighborhood picking something up or dropping something off. And in that year, we’ve done the normal chores and tasks that go with housecleaning and home maintenance. But we haven’t done the heavy-duty cleaning and decluttering we do when company’s coming. Until now. Some friends from our hometown – they’re our age, and, like us, were recently inoculated with both doses [...]
I still go back to my childhood when I think of Easter – both the religious and non-religious aspects of it. It takes me to memories of the bright colors of Easter eggs and Easter baskets, the wonderful smells coming from Grandma’s kitchen and our own as food was prepared and cooked, as cakes – in the shape of lambs – were baked and decorated, and as visions of chocolate bunnies danced in the heads of my sisters and me. Mass was early Sunday morning, [...]
Many years ago, I had surgery for breast cancer, followed by a year of monthly chemotherapy treatments. After each one, I went home and spent the rest of the day in bed, nauseous and exhausted. I was tired and a bit queasy for most of the week, then I’d have three weeks off until it was time to do it all again. One of the things I remember about that time is how eagerly I kept counting down the number of treatments I had left. [...]
We spent two days driving, then two and a half days at our destination, and another two days coming home. Some people might question whether the time we spent there was worth the time it took to get there and back. Under other circumstances, I might agree. But not this time. We were visiting our grandkids. My husband and I got our second vaccination in mid-February, and waited the recommended amount of time to allow the vaccine to come to full strength. Then we hit [...]
I was a little nervous when my doctor’s office called to schedule an appointment to go over the results of the bone density scan I had done last week. I figured that anytime this has to be done in person, rather than with a phone call, the news can’t be good. Happily, I was wrong, and the doctor said my bones were even stronger than they were in my last scan two years ago. The news made me think of a newspaper column I wrote [...]
Plenty of movies over the years have utilized the “fish out of water” concept, pulling the main characters out of their comfortable, familiar world and putting them – either comically or dangerously – in an environment that’s totally foreign to them. Time-travel movies like Back to the Future are good examples. So are movies that transplant characters from big, bustling cities to small, laid-back rural areas. Or vice versa. Crocodile Dundee manages to do both, between New York City and the Australian Outback. The reason [...]
Every so often, I come across a “prayer” that makes me chuckle. Like one that says, “Dear God, please grant me patience. And I need it now!” Then there’s one that goes, “Heavenly Father, thank you that my day’s going pretty well so far. I haven’t experienced any major conflicts or catastrophes, and I haven’t lost my temper or made any stupid mistakes. But very soon, I’m going to have to get out of bed, and then I’m really going to need your help.” I [...]
I got my second COVID vaccine shot yesterday, and I came home with a mixed bag of feelings – some that I expected, and a few I didn’t. One feeling I anticipated – and experienced – was a sense of both relief and protection. Not entirely, since I know there’s a span of a few weeks before immunity is at full strength. Also, there are still a lot of unknowns with regard to how long it lasts, how effective it is against newly emerging variants, [...]