By Friday, March 13, all students had been advised to leave campus until March 31st — if possible. The end date feels arbitrary, will they all fly home and return two weeks later? I guess the truth is that nobody knows. The faculty receives a query from our department chair asking us to report if … Read more
So, I’m doing this 21-day challenge that a friend invited me to do. It’s like this Deepak Chopra / Oprah Winfrey thing that’s supposed to raise your vibration. Each day there’s a task and a meditation and an inspirational quote. Today’s inspirational quote is: “Learning from mistakes is a great lesson for growth.” Which turned … Read more
2019 has been a year. Such a year that I haven’t even thought much about how it’s the end of a decade — another thing to process at another time. Parents of dear friends have been ill this year. Parents of dear friends have died. Spouses of friends were ill this year. Spouses of friends … Read more
Beth Ann (not her real name, for privacy) is the homeless lady who lives in our neighborhood. She used to perch on a brick planter near the entrance to the parking lot until the CVS asked her not to sit there as customers didn’t like. Then she moved across the street. And then, when the … Read more
The day before New Year’s Eve I suffered a case of food-poisoning, with all the fun that entails. Appropriately, I ended 2018 feeling a little beaten up and drained! But the first day of 2019 is the sigh after the storm. The sun came out this morning, and — for today at least — nothing … Read more
I will not say that my father was a hoarder, but he was an academic, an artist and a collector of books and items related to his academic, artistic and other interests. His attitude might be summarized as — why throw things away when we have an attic… a basement… a garage? When he died … Read more
In my last post I mentioned my friend who is having issues with his health and posted on Facebook the status, “nothing seems fair anymore.” His post got an overwhelming response, because he has so many friends who love him, and also, i think because they are words that hit a cord with all of … Read more
In February of 2003, a few months after my cancer diagnosis and surgery, I attended a cancer retreat in the Yarra Valley outside Melbourne, Australia. It was an amazing ten days, that helped me transform my cancer experience into something that had value and meaning for me. Part of what made the experience amazing were … Read more
Oh, Sibling Day. This was the first year that, through the power of Facebook, I discovered it existed, and it still passed before I knew when it was. It was yesterday. Do card companies make cards for this holiday? Answer unknown. According to the ever-helpful Wikipedia it is about 15 years old, and though not … Read more
“You thank God for the good things that come to you, but you don’t thank him for the things that seem to you bad; that is where you go wrong.” –Ramana Marharshi This quote has been in my mind lately, kind of flopping around in there like a fish along with this other flopping fish– … Read more