Here and now: July 29, 2016

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This is what's up in my life... and an answer to why I've not been posting much "real writing" here on the blog.

clock and book

On my mind...

How to cheer up Jim after learning yesterday he is "not yet ready for prime time" after his foot surgery, according to his podiatrist. Meaning, he still cannot bear weight on his right foot. Meaning, he has yet another week left using crutches. Meaning, he must still sleep downstairs, must still go in the back door at work where they have a handicapped ramp for him to...

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5 joys of July

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July is my least favorite month of the year. It's too hot and... well... it's just plain too hot.

I'm not a fan of hot weather, which is pretty much why I'm not a fan of July.

Rather than stew over the scorching season, though, I'm looking on the bright side today, pondering the positive parts of a month I mostly despise. 

There are but five.

joys of july

ONE
My third and final child — Andrea, one of my favorite people in the world — was...

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National Family Caregivers Month and 'Doing The Right Thing'

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November is Family Caregivers Month, which recognizes the challenging work of the more than 65 million people—29 percent of the U.S. population—who provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend (according to National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP). More importantly, the campaign stresses the need for those around the caregiver to offer support... and breaks from the job, when possible.

I am not a caregiver. I'm fortunate in that my own mother fares well on her own at this point and doesn't require care. My mother-in-law does, though. Professionals in the nursing home where she resides provide her primary care. Jim's sister Sue, who lives near the home, tirelessly offers Mom the nearly daily love, care, and attention only a family member can provide—despite Sue having a full-time job and busy life of her own, needs of her own.

family caregiver

Sue is, without doubt, the hero of...

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Musing elsewhere: Thoughts on my daughter's miscarriage (PurpleClover.com)

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Thoughts on my daughter's miscarriage

Published October 18, 2015 on PurpleClover.com

purpleclover.com

My daughter lost her baby last week. A miscarriage in the first trimester.

Coming from an abundantly fertile family, it's hard to wrap my head around that. My mom had seven children. Three of my sisters had several children, and a number of those kids had kids. I had three children myself, and my middle child had three children, too.

All of us had no problem. Yet it's a problem for my oldest child, Brianna.

"Problem" doesn't come close to accurately describing the fertility challenge for my daughter. A dead baby is far more than a problem. It's a painful, traumatic, inexplicable loss.

My 33-year-old daughter, who learned just this past year that her chances for conceiving and delivering a child are sadly...

Click to continue reading on PurpleClover.com...

Here and now: October 15, 2015

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clock and book 

On my mind...

The extreme ups and downs of life. Last week, I set out on an amazing adventure on the sunrise coast of Michigan. The week before, my oldest daughter...

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Fearless at 50: AARP spotlights feisty female skateboarders over fifty

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skateboard moms

The older I get, the more I consciously strive to engage in experiences that scare me a bit. Just this past weekend, in fact, I climbed to the very top of five lighthouses in Michigan in the face of fears my MS would keep me from going all the way to the light—and back down again—without fumbling, stumbling and falling flat on my face or fanny.

Also over the weekend, I took an aerial flight in an itsy...

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A Brave Heart, plus GRAND Social No. 174 link party for grandparents

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A Brave Heart

A Brave Heart film

My husband and I watched an incredible documentary yesterday called A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY, courtesy a free, no-obligation screener from the filmmakers. It's the amazing, heartbreaking, inspiring...

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Here and now: August 20, 2015

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In my world...

clock and book

On my mind...

On NBC News Tuesday night, there was a report of an unscrupulous doctor who had been egregiously knowingly misdiagnosing patients with MS. Such a horrible thing to do. I have MS. BUT, though his actions are unconscionable, that's not what most stuck with me after viewing the report. What did stick with me was a comment from one of the women incorrectly diagnosed. She stated that...

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