Speaking the Language
My father-in-law, Dick, was diagnosed with Lewy body Dementia late in his life. It’s a horrible condition akin to having Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s at the same time. My mother-in-law was doing the lion’s share of taking care of him and REALLY needed a break, so we...
It’s Hard to Be A Chameleon in a Quarantine
For most of my life I have been able to “fit in”. In fact, I became so adept at it, that more than once I have been asked directions in a city I was visiting for the first time. I can pick up mannerisms and accents easily. When speaking with someone, I can pick up...
How Sunday Dinners with My Family Prepared Me for This Moment
Some families like to discuss current events. Some families like to argue. Some families like to complain. Some worry. Some nag. Some ignore each other. My family likes to laugh. And I’ve realized it is the greatest gift I could ever have been given. My maternal...
Doing What is Right for YOU
It’s springtime. The sun is shining, the grass is green, the flowers and trees are in bloom. I watch the season unfolding from inside my apartment, grateful for the view and the reminder that at least SOMETHING is “normal” these days. I’ve frankly struggled with the...
Its Practically Like Paris
Last week it felt like Paris. The quiet, the solitude, the watching and waiting. This is why I love to go there: it’s time away from all my usual life, a time to slow down and just listen. I was nearly giddy with the prospect of not having to DO anything! This week it...
Retreat
It was time to retreat. I had forces battling me on all sides and knew that if I didn’t pull back now, I would be consumed and overrun. I surveyed my options and took a path that I knew would put my communications at risk, but it seemed the right thing to do. ...
Who Are You?
I have long held the belief that it is both a blessing and a curse to be able to do a lot of things. And I have noticed that women, the consummate multi-taskers, can do a lot of things. Most of the time we don’t even think about it…we just DO it. Which is, in part,...
But Where Are the Flying Cars?
I was a huge Jetsons fan when I was a kid. Saturday morning cartoons most often included George, Jane (his wife), Judy, Elmo and Rastro (Astro, the dog). And the very cool gadgets of the future. They had the moving sidewalks. The microwaves. The video phones. And...
Clarity
It’s the holiday season. I’m 3 days past my son’s wedding and still processing those emotions. And I am fighting off my annual holiday cold, which, in the past few years, has decided to morph into bronchitis. I’m all dressed up and sitting in one of my favorite spots...
Shifting
When I was 16-years-old, with my new drivers license just itching to be put to good use, my parents decided it was time to get a 2nd car. Up until that point we had survived somehow on just one car for our family of 5. I think the truth was that my mom...
“ASK JANET”