Novelist | Singer
I learned something new today. Don’t you love that? Life has a good way of handing us humility in good measure almost every time we open our mouths. Here’s my discovery: Having published two of these excerpts on caring for a loved one, I suddenly started to think about the terms I have been using,…
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…
One very important part of a dog’s life is learning that it makes a difference where we pee. B helped me a lot with that. The first week in my new house, she was with me all the time, which was great, because pictures of my brothers, sister and my mom flew through my head…
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…
Extraordinary things can happen as long as we focus on doing little ordinary tasks every day. Trent Preszler—episode on CBS Sunday Morning I’m over 60 now, and at times I feel I haven’t accomplished much in life, particularly when I watch a show like CBS Sunday Morning and witness the incredible lives of notable individuals…
After a dogless six months, we brought our new boy, Sailor, an eight-week-old Australian Shepherd puppy into our house. Changes to our routine are now well established by COVID. While the shutdown has been an interruption, without a dog, we’re now free to stay inside until we actually have to go out, rather than being…
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…
I accompanied my old dog on a walk tonight at 1:00am. Not the best time for a walk, unless you happen to have an old dog. An old dog does exactly what they want, and will figure out how to get it. They also have the loudest mouth in the house. She is good. She…