Yesterday, we buried my Aunt Clara.  The last of my dad’s siblings.  She was 94 years old.  And she was ready. Aunt Clara was a beautiful person.  She had the most engaging smile, her translucent blue eyes twinkled when she laughed, and her hair was the perfect white as she aged.  She was beautiful inside, […]

Crystal is our son, Ab’s, wife of 13 years.  When she joined our family, we were excited to learn her family’s traditions.  She is of Mexican and Cuban descent, and her family celebrations were very different from our German heritage. In her culture, Familia is most important!  Over friends or work or anything else, family […]

My grandson, Linc, is the backup quarterback for his 7th grade football team.  Sunday, when I asked him how his game was yesterday, he said, “Well, I threw the only completion in the game.  And, my first.  Now, I know I can, Grandma.”  Just matter of fact, a realization that he did it, and would […]

The Okawville Book Club reads interesting works, for sure. This month, we read Demon Copperhead. In this work of fiction by Barbara Kingsolver, the story is told by Damon, nicknamed Demon, a young boy who suffers unbelievable loss. His father died in a tragic accident before his birth. His drug addicted mother dies before he […]

Last month this blog explored the loneliness epidemic in our country.  The health impacts are concerning for adults.  Young people are feeling the effects as well, and in different ways. I was shocked to learn in researching this topic just how many young people identified themselves as lonely.  In a recent article in Scientific American, […]

  Most things in our lives have a distinct beginning, middle, and end. There’s no doubt when a movie is over; The credits start to roll, and the music gets more dramatic. The plot has reached a conclusion, and the characters live happily ever after.   We can tell when winter is coming to an […]

I abhor being lonely.  I’m ok being alone sometimes, to write or read or just think.  But after a day or so, I need people.  Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family of nine and there was never time alone.  Or maybe that’s just the way I’m wired. I’m happiest with others.  But […]

Memorial Day is almost here, and with it the start of summer!  That’s what I, and I believe most people think of when they enjoy the holiday on the 4th Monday of May.  But roll back almost 160 years and we can uncover the origins of the day we observe as Memorial Day. When the […]

Am I mad? You bet I am! She wasn’t supposed to die. We pledged our love forever.   We’d only just begun To fulfill some of the dreams we had. But we were cheated out of our future together, And all my dreams are in past tense now.   Our forever lasted thirty-six years, Which […]

  Anna Quindlen published Write For Your Life last year.  The short book is a plea for us to write.  To write our stories, write our heritage down, write with pen and paper or on a computer, just to write.  She makes an excellent case for why we should do this.  Mostly to be remembered.  […]