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...
What Is It Like to be Married? (Part Two)
[My original post on this question was written in February, 2012] Lately I've been talking to people who’ve been married fifteen or thirty or more years. For decades I've been hearing that “every marriage is different,” but I still thought marriage was supposed to fit...
The Bright Side of Mental Illness!
Guess what, everybody? There's an upside to having bipolar disorder and depression! Dr. Nassir Ghaemi runs the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts USA. His book, A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and...
Some Thrive on the Unknown
I. The dirty stove (her job) competes with the uncleaned floors (his job) for most neglected surface, but the winner is her skin. Emotions balance and unbalance, shifting positions and changing sides Who's heavier? II. It turns out the buoyant boy can sink, while the...