The year really began six weeks before the calendar turned over to 2016. It began on Nov. 15, 2015, when an aneurysm ruptured in my brain. That event kicked off a long sequence of events that made 2016 one of the most memorable years of my life. Many days it seemed as though my life … read more The year in review
Tag: Tom
Hover craft
I’ve always walked fast. I was the youngest and shortest of four girls, and ever since I learned to walk, I had to walk fast to keep up in my family of giants. When Tom began to walk again after the stroke, it was slow. One step at a time. He had to think about … read more Hover craft
The 12 gifts of Christmas
Tom and I don’t usually buy each other presents for Christmas. But today I got at least a dozen gifts. Wahoo! What a haul! The first gift came at 7 a.m. when I woke up and got out of bed. I didn’t die 13 months ago, but even better, my brain is working again. That’s a gift … read more The 12 gifts of Christmas
Toe socks
Shut your eyes. Consider your toes for a moment. Can you even do it? Or, like me, do you have trouble visualizing your toes? Or shrink from the very thought because you believe feet are ugly? Take off your shoes and socks, right now. Have a good look at those toes. They’re funny and small … read more Toe socks
A new feeling
On Monday afternoon, I had the strangest sensation. I’d slept pretty well, gotten up and read with my coffee, worked on a blog post, then got down to work. I rapidly cranked out a bunch of tasks. Something felt different, but familiar. It was like, like …. I mentally squinted, trying to figure out what … read more A new feeling
Rolling on
I remember the day Tom got his wheelchair – Aug. 6, the day he was discharged from the rehab hospital. Only a month after his stroke, he could get to and from the chair and a bed, a regular chair, and a shower bench. The chair was a liberation, a sign of great progress, an … read more Rolling on
Lives on the line
I woke up next to a veteran. And am so glad he’s alive. Because I’m not a veteran, I’ll never be able to fully understand how Tom survived what he survived as an Army Ranger in the 1980s. I am simply grateful to him for putting his life on the line repeatedly. Not only that – he … read more Lives on the line
Eternal vigilance
Today’s penny is a 2000. That’s the first time that Donald Trump ran in a primary election, as a Reform Party candidate. This post was updated throughout the day. Noon. Back at our own polling station – now there’s no line, and the handicapped spot is visible and open. We go in to vote. I fill out … read more Eternal vigilance
Decision fatigue
I read that high-powered executives try to limit the number of trivial decisions they have to make each day, so that they can save their mental energy for the important decisions. They have a rack of identical suits, they have tightly scheduled routines, they let someone else order lunch. There is actual science behind this. … read more Decision fatigue
The bed’s too big
When we’re staying here in the rental house, I think of Joni Mitchell’s song “My Old Man“: But when he’s gone, me and those lonesome blues collide, the bed’s too big, the frying pan’s too wide… Even when my old man’s here, the bed’s too big. And too wide. Because it’s a king, not a queen. … read more The bed’s too big