Dear Gregorio, It’s hard to believe that it’s been sixteen years since you and Sarah met back in 2009, and thirteen since you two got married. That has been an eventful sixteen years, marked by the addition of your three beautiful children and the life you two have created for yourselves and them. You can…
Tag: love
Rethinking the Third Age: Life After 70
When I was born in the early 1950s, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was around 68 years. That number has risen steadily over the decades—today it’s about 78 for the general population, with women living on average to 81 and men to nearly 76. The gap between men’s and women’s life spans is…
Happy Upcoming Anniversary, Sarah and Gregorio!
This is a piece I wrote back in 2014. Sarah and Gregorio’s wedding date is approaching, 11 years later, and I thought it’d be fun to share the tension that preceded that civil ceremony before their big church wedding near Thanksgiving. Sarah and Gregorio told us several weeks ago that they were going to get…
Flash Fiction: Choice vs No Choice
“What does the phrase, “I didn’t have a choice” mean to you?” the therapist asked her client. “Didn’t have a choice? Hmmm. Yes, that’s what they all say. No choice means not taking responsibility.” Marie stared at her therapist, waiting for her reaction. “Who is ‘they’,” her therapist asked. “What?” “You said, ‘That’s what they…
Combating the Mean Voice in My Head
Dear Mean Voice, I didn’t realize for a long time that you were as active a character in my brain as you are. You were much better then at throwing in a subtle negative comment only occasionally. But now you’ve moved to a new level. You are relentless about tossing in your opinion, which is…
25 Things I’ve Learned about Life
I wrote this a while ago, but believe it’s worthy of reposting. If you’re reading it, then it’s because you are a friend or a part of my family. Whatever the case, consider this written for you. To my daughters, their partners, my grandkids, my nieces and nephews, brother, cousins, and anyone else in my…
Poem: I Have Lost the Spring in My Step
I have lost the spring in my stepMy lower back hurts, and it’s no funI think I need to move moreSitting in a chair for hours Hunched over a computer Could be the culprit An occupational hazardFor this writer and writing teacherCurrently, I am standing and typingSeeing if this homemade standing deskMight ease the sharp…
A Letter To Luna about Her Mom
I wrote this way back in 2013, just after Luna was born, but it seems fitting to post it again since Sarah’s birthday was yesterday. Luna (now 12) reads my blog occasionally, so she might be interested in a letter I wrote to her when she was 5 weeks and 6 days old. Not to…
Revisiting “Just a Little Hope,” A Song Written by My Little Brother and Me
Last night, one of the members of my writing group, Taffy Kennedy, mentioned the song that had “hope in the title” that I had written with my brother Sam. I was so touched she remembered, I promised I’d find it so she could hear it again. Here it is below from a previous post here…
To Mom on Mother’s Day Eve
I wrote this piece a while back, but it still reflects many of my feelings about my mother. This could be titled, “Some of My Favorite Things about 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…
20 Minutes a Day 