I used to love to talk to my sisters on the phone. We’d talk for hours. There was never enough time to talk to my sisters as much as I wanted to. I’ve got old friends who I used to talk with that way, too. Hours. Today, I talked to one of them. I squeezed it in … read more The distance I feel
Tag: 2014
Feeling unlucky
When I went to the fitness center today, I saw a half-dozen friends who asked how I was doing. They all know about my long recovery from brain surgery and are solicitous of my health. I told them about Tom’s stroke. Several of them gave me a hug or patted my arm, and expressed sympathy … read more Feeling unlucky
Fair compensation
So much of my days are consumed with being a secretary for Tom: disability, health and travel insurance claims, work and personal emails, returning phone calls, writing updates for family and friends, reading him comments on Facebook posts. I don’t mind. It’s easy work and the compensation is very high. Like today, I got to … read more Fair compensation
Clogged drains
As a plumber’s daughter, I have a genetic dislike of Drano, Liquid Plumber and other uber-chemical solutions to clogged drains. They eat pipes. And they aren’t too great for septic systems, either. So I usually use a little wire snake for the bathroom sink, and hot water with baking soda and vinegar for the kitchen. … read more Clogged drains
Are we not men?
Ruby Kusturd is made of the world’s largest crystal ruby, 30,090 karats. Shaping a gem of that size into a swirl of soft ice cream was Mark Mothersbaugh’s way of mocking both fine jewelry and fine art. The swirl is a bit reminiscent of the conical hats worn by the band Devo, for which Mothersbaugh was the lead … read more Are we not men?
Room with a view
Once in awhile, life does you a favor, and you are never sure why. Today they moved Tom to a new hospital room. He’s off all the monitors, and they needed the bed with monitors for someone with more urgent needs. The new room is in the non-acute part of the neuro floor. When I … read more Room with a view
Lucky twins
Tom and I are dissimilar in many ways. He’s calm, I’m hyper; he’s a math guy, I’m a word girl. In the past couple years, though, we’ve had medical procedures in common. Two years ago, we both had surgery for early-onset cataracts. He had his done first, which gave me the courage to get mine … read more Lucky twins
Not quite the birthday I expected
Today started out just like I expected. My birthday morning coffee was spectacularly special, because I shared it with the love of my life, Tom; my precious oldest sister, Ann; and my oldest friend, Dan; and all of us around the same table. I grinned at birthday greetings from my friends all over the world … read more Not quite the birthday I expected
Bodies of light
I’m a window person, not an aisle person. When you’re 35,000 feet above the ground, you can see how small we are, and how big the earth is. I want to see that every chance I get. The clouds from the window on the flight yesterday were spectacular. Towering bodies of bulky white, spirit formations … read more Bodies of light
Someone else’s memories
By accident, I just found online seven photos of Dad from World War II that I didn’t even know existed. The caption for the featured photo above is “Burtonwood – Flying control personnel – 1 May 1943 Cpl Schnellinger, ‘Nice chap’.” Yep, my dad really was a nice chap. Everyone who knew him would have said that. … read more Someone else’s memories