Today, my niece Kevin sent me a text message: “Visiting a special place today.” Here is the photo she sent: This is the labyrinth at Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City, which was made possible in part by donations from Kevin’s dad’s friends and family. E. Ray was a special person who had a…
Tag: family
Brother George’s Last Day
I wrote this several years back, but I love this story of my brother George’s last day. My brother approached death with such grace that it is awe-inspiring. Twenty-two years ago this month, my brother George passed away. He was 54 years old. George called on the evening of May 2, 2004, and told me…
Travels to Salt Lake City and Texas
Hi my friends, Sorry, I dropped out of sight for a few weeks. The truth is that we went traveling, first to Salt Lake City for my great-niece’s college graduation, and then to Texas for a week, and I just ran out of steam every evening during the hours when I usually sit down to…
Happy Belated Birthday, Mom
I was thinking about my mother today and the secret things I loved about her. For example, I loved her smell, which was a combination of Oleg Cassini perfume, vo5 hair conditioner, and CoverGirl face powder. Also, I loved her “look.” She always wore slacks, a top, and a jacket no matter if it were…
Processing the Complications of Baby Milo’s Birth
On the day of my little grandson Milo’s birth, the first child of my daughter Rachael and my son-in-law Andrew, I wrote the email below to some dear writing friends of mine. I am posting it here for a few reasons: 1) to have a record of what happened, 2) to remind myself and anyone…
The Ides of March and a Brother Remembered
I have posted this story about my brother John before, but tomorrow is his birthday, and this story speaks so vividly to me of my deep love for him. For that reason, I am sharing it again since this time of year, John is very much on my mind. Could That Be My Brother? I…
For a Belated International Women’s Day: In Praise of Women
I have had the good fortune to know a myriad of strong women in my life, starting with my grandmother and mother, who were forces in their own right, to my mother’s partner, Dorothy; my sister, Leslie; my three powerful and opinionated daughters, Sarah, Liz, and Rachael; my oldest grandchild, Luna, who is the walking…
Happy Birthday, Andrew!
Today is my son-in-law Andrew’s birthday, and while he and Rachael may be quietly celebrating, I suspect they both think the best present ever would be the safe and easy birth of their little son Milo, who is due at any time. I doubt Milo will share his daddy’s birthday, however. That would require a…
Flash Fiction: Somebody’s Girlfriend
I was sixteen when it happened. I didn’t mean to do it, but the police didn’t believe that. Actually, nobody believed me, since I had been bragging earlier that week that if Josh bothered me again, I was going to smack him upside the head. I was talking to a bunch of girls, swaggering around…
My Dad: Frozen in My Mind at Sixty-Eight
Tomorrow is my dad’s birthday. He would be astonishingly old now—124—since he was born in 1903 and was fifty when I was born. It’s funny how time works. I have him frozen just as he was when he died in 1972, when I was nineteen years old. He was just a few weeks away from…
20 Minutes a Day 