The Big Secret
The big secret I referred to on my blog last month was that my mother was in hospice care. That's why so many of my June posts were about death. My mother and I had been estranged for years, but we managed to say a loving good-bye when I flew out to California during...
Avoiding One’s Home Town
Is there anyone else out there who avoids their home town because going there doesn't evoke good memories? Today I head out there one more time. It seems many people enjoy visiting the place they grew up because there are still people there who they enjoy seeing:...
Aurora Rodriguez
Today in the Contra Costa Times of California.
Now I Know I’m Not a Dog Person
I agreed to get a dog in 2011 because my husband wanted one very badly, but now we're splitting up. Ozzie did make my husband very happy, but he didn't make me nearly as happy and mainly just added to my workload. I was okay with that while I believed that Ozzie was...
What Not to Say When Someone Dies, Part II
When someone is telling you about a death in the family, or when you're at a wake or a funeral, try not to let your personal feelings about death get in the way. The friends and family of a bereaved person often see the death as a horrifying thing and make...
What Not to Say When Someone Dies, Part I
When trying to give emotional support to someone experiencing the death of a loved one, don't: - express your gratitude that you aren't going through a similar experience. - mention that hearing of this death reminds you to check your own health. - turn to your...
From PostSecret.com
Not everyone goes running to their parent's death bed: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yahxMDYH0rY/UbPg5fTcjHI/AAAAAAAAYqU/Ok07nt9I9BQ/s1600/25.jpg In fact many people take their time, if they show up at all, but just don't talk about it.
Dying Wishes
When a dying wish conflicts with the needs of the living, which should take priority? Some extreme cases would be pretty easy to call: if a person's last wish is that a friend should go murder her ex-husband, the friend might not have trouble disobeying. But what...
There Are No Religious in the Throes of Death
There's an expression that "there are no atheists in foxholes." I don't like this expression because I'm an atheist and I'd like to think I wouldn't capitulate like that, but who knows. I also once read a piece by an atheist soldier who claimed from personal...
Mother’s English Tea Cookies
These have been my favorite cookies for a long time. Only stores on the West Coast of the USA carry them. I can't get them in Chicago, but I grew up with them and try to bring some back whenever I'm out there. I've been known to blow through a whole package in no...
Holding Secrets
Blogging is hard when there are things you don't want certain people in your life to know. I hate secrets. I grew up with secrets. My mother does secrets all too well. I don't tend to keep personal secrets about myself (as my blog readers have probably figured out)...
Happy Day of Mothers? Okay.
May has always been a crappy month for me. I dislike the loss of winter with its quiet, soothing cover of clouds and coldness. I'm also prone to spring allergies, but mostly I don't react well to Mother's Day. Or at least I didn't in the past. For a long time I've...