Early this morning as I sat outside sipping my morning coffee, I glanced up at the sky and took this photograph. Yesterday was raining; today the clouds began to lift and the sky unfolded to resemble the one I remember so clearly from this day, 14 years ago. I remember, after being nearly hypnotized by the images unfolding live on television, suddenly feeling an overwhelming urge to get outside. I took my dog outside for a walk and glanced up at the sky, which was bright and crisp with barely a hint of clouds. It was astounding and unimaginable to me that on such a flawless day, just 40-odd miles { Read More }
The Case of the Missing Mojo
My mojo has left me. I'm not sure what I did to offend it. I'm searching for answers. I wonder if this is why... Last week, I took a little time off. My BFF came all the way from California to visit. We hadn't seen one another since January, and I was guilty of being just a wee bit excited. Much more than a wee bit, if you really want to know. The day before Ellen arrived, I sat down at my desk. I put an "out of office" message on my inbox. I made notes of things I had to do for the following week. I got up-to-date on my assignments and other work. "Mojo," I said. "Here's the deal. Tomorrow, I { Read More }
Why I Chose to Have a Prophylactic Mastectomy
Angelina Jolie was not the only one to choose a prophylactic mastectomy. I did, too. - but for different reasons. (Thank you, Angelina, for making it public. You've given me the courage to write about it for the very first time. And now, I can't imagine why I was silent for so long). When I was diagnosed with breast cancer almost 25 years ago, the words "prophylactic mastectomy" were not commonly uttered. Breasts that were diseased were removed; otherwise healthy tissue was left intact. Since then, a lot has transpired. Some (though not all) physicians advise women who have had cancer in one breast { Read More }
Boston and Our Children
We baby boomers had relatively peaceful childhoods, with a relatively so-called optimistic view of the world. Of course, there are always those who might have had volatile home or other lives,...but I'm not talking about that. I'm referring to our overall feeling of security and peace. I'm sad for our children, and their children. (I don't want to go beyond this, because I'm trying to be optimistic that maybe, by the time their children have children the world will be a better place). Aside from the world being a different place for our children because of advances in technology - which inevitably make { Read More }
The Newtown School Shootings: A Most Unfortunate Way to Reconcile a Death
As I sit here this Monday morning, it’s so hard to make sense out of my emotions, which are flip-flopping through my crowded mind, competing for attention. I am grieving the death of my father, who passed away on Friday. But on top of that I’m also grieving – along with the rest of the world – the 20 young children who died that same day in Newtown, just 30 minutes from my home here in Connecticut. It isn’t surprising, I’m sure, for you to hear that the events in Newtown pretty much eclipsed the death of my father. The loss of a 90-year old is a natural loss; the senseless massacre of innocent { Read More }
On Not Being Somebody’s Child
I've managed to live this long - 58 years - still being someone else's child. I may be an adult child...but nonetheless, there's something strangely comforting about being in your 50s and still having a mother and a father. And although I may be fooling myself, being someone else's child makes me feel less like an adult in this so-called midlife, and more like a (somewhat) young thing. For that, I count myself among the lucky ones. So many people I know have suffered the loss of a parent when they were in dire need of parenting themselves - as young children, as teenagers, as young adults. It { Read More }