Originally published on December 16, 2009.
Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
— Dwight David Eisenhower
Last year, after Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer, Primetime aired Diane Sawyer’s interview of Randy, his family and friends. Much of the footage was of conversations that took place prior to Randy’s death. In addition to the phenomenal courage and the deliberate way that the Pausch family planned for and dealt with Randy’s death, one interchange between Diane and Randy’s wife, Jai, has stayed with me.
Diane and Jai were talking about how Jai was making it through each day. Jai replied that in therapy they had discussed how we humans tend to project into the future. When she watched Randy and kids play, she would go to Continue reading » Stay Here, Now!
Sometimes thinking too much can destroy your momentum.
— Tom Watson
There’s something about Americans’ expectations of life that seems to set us up for dissatisfaction. Don’t get me wrong, a little dissatisfaction is good for the soul, it motivates us to stretch – to accomplish more, for ourselves and others. But, as a culture, we seem to have trouble finding a Continue reading » Building Your Happiness Momentum
Do you have a quiet shore to rest upon?
The season of Christmas is upon us – and I for one REFUSE to let it be diminished by the holiday chaos that threatens to wear me down…
Find a quiet shore, a place you can pause and feel the stress fall off of you… a refuge you can escape to at a moment’s notice.
Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Often, when chaos begins to wear us down, a brief rest stop will renew our spirit – and infuse us with the power boost we need to master the moment. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could Continue reading » Rest Stop
Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.
— Anonymous
Recently, it was brought home to me how quickly things can change. It seems that a columnist from the Times in London, Melanie Reid, who had been riding horses competitively for 30 years, fell off while doing some cross-country jumps and broke her neck. In the amount of time it took her to fly through the air and land on her face in the dirt, her life changed drastically.
More Than You Can Handle
It is a measure of how important writing is to her that despite the fact that she can’t physically write or type she is still Continue reading » The Path to Serenity
Dear Caregivers —
Whatever challenges you face in caring for your loved ones today, know that with the passage of time these challenges will change. The current issues will fade, and there will be a new set of challenges awaiting you to solve…or at best, survive. When you’re feeling like you can no longer persevere, remember you are warriors and time and patience are your allies. Hang in there!
— TenderLovingElderCare.com
As a child, I was raised with a sense of paranoia about the unknown that continues to affect me to this day. Because I am the eldest and also the one who was “most responsible” as a child, I assumed that I would be the one to take care of my parents as they aged.
We have a long history of taking care of elder bodies in the family. Although my maternal grandparents died relatively young, their siblings lived into their eighties and nineties and my parents both shouldered the responsibility of taking care of them. For these folks, that meant Continue reading » A Fine Line – Caring for Elder Bodies
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