Ch.205 Three Grieving Men June 2023           I, like many men, have usually preferred talking with women, especially if the topic involved sharing emotions as against opinions. However, Read more

Ch.204 One Year Anniversary of Pat’s Death July 1, 2023           I thought I’d wait to get home from the cemetery today before writing, but this morning I Read more

Ch.203 Feeling “Normal” Feels Great           May 2023           I have just returned from my first airplane travel trip in over four years. I Read more

Ch.202 Mother’s Day Memories May 2023           I didn’t expect to awaken tearfully on Mother’s Day. After all, Pat and I hadn’t made big deals out of Mother’s Read more

Ch.201 Everything Goes Wrong: Cancer Danger, Flat Tire, Disabled Lawn Mower, Downspout Problems, and a Horse with Loose Teeth.           May 2023           In Read more

Ch.200 An Unpleasant Surprise: I May Have Cancer May 3, 2023           I’ve been concerned about having increased memory and other cognitive problems, so I scheduled an appointment Read more

Ch.198 Don’t Leave a Mess Behind May 2023           I have been cleaning, sorting, keeping, and throwing things since Pat was transferred to assisted living. I began with Read more

Ch.199 First Airplane Trip After Pat’s Death May 22, 2023           I’m flying tomorrow from Minneapolis to Toronto to spend a week with my brothers Art and Don, Read more

Ch.197 “Get Me Through December.” April 2023           Alison Krause is a blue grass singer with a beautiful soprano voice. This afternoon I listened to several of her Read more

Ch.196 Watching Pat’s Memory Choir Brings Sadness and Joy           April 2023           This morning I attended the final rehearsal for the evening’s Springtime Read more

Ch.195 Reminiscences: “Tripping” with Pat April 2023           Searching for some Lewy Body books, I happened across three journals I kept between 1997 and 2015 in which I Read more

Ch.194 My Friend Howard’s Joyful End of Life April 2023           Howard was dying from a rare form of cancer. He knew it. I knew it. So, I Read more

Ch.193 Letting Go of a Great Resentment           March 2023            Before Pat closed out her life at Azura Memory Care she spent a Read more

Ch.192 I Have a Pretty Good Life March 2023           I awakened yesterday, said good morning to Pat as usual, and began contemplating the day. Morning: drinking tea and Read more

Ch.191 Three Acts of Generosity Help Me Feel Hopeful           March 2023           Yesterday began with worry. Two days ago, Levi, my elderly collie, Read more

Ch.190 Doing OK But a Little Empty March 2023            By chance, I saw Pat’s cousin Cheryl as I entered the church where a concert raising money for Read more

Ch.189 Things Fall Apart. February 2023           “Things fall apart. The center cannot hold.” This famous phrase, the beginning of a poem written by William Butler Yeats, perfectly Read more

Ch.188 I Can No Longer Keep Lakota Safe. February 2023           My horse is named Lakota. He’s a “quarter horse,” a type bred to run exactly one-quarter mile Read more

This week I have altered my usual format. I've asked my friend Richard Fuhrer to share a poem he wrote recently as he wrestled with whether this was the time Read more

Ch.186 A Joyful Musical Memory January 2023           Last night I watched a PBS special show about the singer and pianist Roberta Flack. Her breakthrough song was entitled Read more