Novelist | Singer
This is the first part of a multipart series on caretaking for a loved one. I will delve into several aspects of caretaking and why it is one of the most important things you will ever do in your life. Caretaking is both a blessing and a curse. It sets up the potential for a…
January 19, 2024The finality of even anticipated doom is like a wrecking ball. We received the actual words from the doctor the other day,”we’ll prep him to go home so he can say his goodbyes. . .” It certainly wasn’t unexpected. We have known for weeks that Pete wouldn’t survive the cancer. We were hoping…
Let’s face it. We’re all suffering from Covid hangover. Peak Covid time was tougher, but somehow it has derailed my sense of time. I can no longer remember how long ago things occurred within the past several years. Have you noticed that events are either pre-Covid or post-Covid? I’ll bet you’ve used that yourself to…
But not just any dog. I want to be my dog Sailor, the best example of living well. I want to greet each day with the smile of a two-year-old, in anticipation of nothing more than gazing into the eyes of a loved one. A magnetic look that sends love lasers through the air and…
I have a girlfriend! Her name is Maisie. I met her the very first day my people brought me to my new home. She came to my house. At that time, she was bigger than I was, and lots stronger. She could jump too! She outweighed me and so when we ran, sometimes I would…
Life in that whelping box was a pile of puppies. Usually, Mom was there and when she was—yum! Warm milk slid right down my throat and into my belly until I fell asleep from being too full. My nose led me around, and everywhere I could smell my pack, but especially my Mom. Mom=warm yummy…
Valued reader, I know there are a million dog stories out there, and many of us read them. Is it overkill? Perhaps. Or perhaps writers write about dogs because they are so special. They are happy all the time. They are loyal, present, honest, playful, smart and they seem to know what we want and…
She is panting for no reason. The day before she seized several times. During one episode, she fell, peed herself and landed on her side at the brink of the open stairs off the deck. I had to catch her to keep her from falling down the flight. Last night she woke me twice and…
It never occurred to me that caring for my mother in her last days’ journey with Alzheimer’s would be repeated only several years later. My dear dog and faithful companion Lila has turned the corner into her twilight days. Certainly there are physical similarities; loss of faculties (sight, hearing), loss of mobility and energy, but…