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Love Needs No Translation
As our vacation to Costa Rica ends, I am reminded of so many things that are most important in life. Nothing is More Important than Family We spent two weeks here with Gerardo’s mom to help take care of her and help her to heal and recover. Just making her favorite foods and helping her…
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Cherry Blossoms and Green Grass
Grief is so unpredictable. It seems like the moment you feel some sort of “normal,” something enters your life like a leaf in the wind but has an impact of a tsunami. Today is one of those days. The last years with my stepfather Sid and my mother Diane were the most difficult. Helping two…
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What has the Pandemic Taken from Me?
Well, it isn’t my freedom. I still live in the home of the free and the brave. I still get to vote. I still have the right to bare arms – and I got a great tan this summer working in my yard. My Summer Backyard Project It isn’t my job. The pandemic definitely impacted my…
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Only a Blanket to Share
Fourteen hours. It took 14 hours to get to Costa Rica from my modest home in California to the town of Heredia. I had no expectations of what I would find there. I was told of the lack of infrastructure, small winding roads, and beautiful landscapes crafted from mountains and oceans. It took weeks to…
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Permission to Let Go
On March 2nd, 2019 at 8:30 pm, my mother passed away. For 2 years I have been by her side helping her as her health deteriorated and eventually took her life. My mother fought for her life by putting herself through extraordinary and heroic measures. Eventually, she moved into palliative care. Her care providers could…
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It’s A Love Story
I never believed in love at first sight. I’m sure there can be an attraction when you meet someone new, and I’m sure you can feel a strong chemistry with another person. But the idea of falling head over heels in love with someone the first time you see them – it seems like a…
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My Groundhog Day
22 phone calls and 55 text messages into my day I am ready to pull my hair out. No, I am not talking about my work in IT service management. I am describing my day – just one day –dealing with the broken processes within our healthcare system. I now have two critically ill parents.…
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An Empty Cart
It’s a cold night. I want to feel anything other than what I am feeling. I pop the flip-top off the Jeep and drive the 20 minutes home. The cold air comes in from above and fills the front seat with a cool damp breeze. I’m driving with the heater on, and the dry, hot…
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Tap Dancing with Diane
Last night I had a dream that I was tap dancing down the streets of New Orleans with Tony Bennet. A person walking on the street stopped him and asked, “What are the top 4 memories of your life?” He replied, “Audrey, Nancy, Rebecca, and Samantha.” I laughed, and we continued tap-dancing down the road…
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Cancer Changes Everything
My mother has always been the definition of strength. Born in a time when women stayed at home and raised their children. My mother fought against established norms. She played sports. She took up causes. She marched against evil and pulled herself up and out of a troubled upbringing. I always looked up to her…
