A few days ago, we participated in an early Thanksgiving meal with my 91-year-old mother Ginny at her assisted living / memory care residence. The evening included some live musical entertainment and while mom was watching the singer, I was watching her feet tap to “That’s Life” and hearing her sing the last few notes … More Enjoying Some Thanksgiving Notes With the Elderly
Something my 31-year-old son said to me last week reminded me about an ancient (18-year-old) hard copy of a manuscript I have buried in the cupboard. I’m pretty sure most readers here have a similar project in a similar cupboard. The premise was to keep a “journal” for one year chronicling life with a 13-year-old … More Operation Odyssey
I’m poking around my house again. About every two years, I hear the call of the Garage Sale Sirens. I begin to pull out various items I rarely or have literally never used and set up shop in my garage for a few hours on a Saturday morning. On average, I would guess that 40% … More Garage Sales, the Internet & A Santa
“Hi Mom, I wanted to tell you that we’re going to see you soon” I shared in a recent phone call with my 91-year-old mom Ginny who lives in memory care. It was the first time we had talked in five weeks. Her residence had experienced a heavy Delta variant surge which left many residents … More Reunions Inside a Senior Community
In early 2000, author Sharon Marchisello’s mother, Lolita, seemed to understand that something was different and once told her daughter “Losing your mind is a terrible thing.” She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and the whole family was learning how to adjust to life with a loved one who was quickly changing. Years later, with … More A Conversation with Sharon Marchisello
On the morning I was scheduled for my appointment, I woke to loud thunder and lightning. I got up and walked in the dark through the living room and stood in front of the glass sliding door to watch. Interestingly, there was no rain. I love thunderstorms, so I stuck around for a few minutes … More A New Me
Ten days ago, I began to receive an unsettling drumbeat of emails from the senior residential community where my 91-year-old mother Ginny lives. August 28th: “We now have 2 confirmed cases in Memory Care.” August 29th: “we currently have two (2) positive cases in Memory Care and two (2) positive cases in Assisted Living.” August … More Delta Developments
Last week, I was digging through a stack of aging, faded newspaper articles I wrote as a free-lancer back in the late 1990’s, hoping to find a particular story I thought might be a good fit for the blog. Suddenly, I landed on a clipping which I didn’t write. It had been snail-mailed to me … More Saving Lissa
I grew up less than an hour from Amish country. When I think about that, it’s hard to believe because I was full-on suburban girl, hitting the mall, the movie theaters and going to sleep-overs on the weekend so we could stay up late and watch Saturday Night Live. It was only 55 minutes, but … More Connecting to the Amish
It has been almost a year since my mother Ginny turned 90 during the Covid lockdown. At the time, I remember telling her that as soon as restrictions lifted, we would celebrate this important birthday by taking her out to her favorite restaurant, ordering her favorite gin and tonic cocktail and digging into a birthday … More Life Inside Memory Care
Leaving The Door Open 