Donna began her journey in Human Services in 1983. During the next 35 years she held various positions and formally retired in 2018. She writes on an array of social issues. Donna's relaxation time includes walking her Lab, Roxy, having fun with her seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, writing for Silver Sage, spending time with friends and family. Her last full-time position was providing care to her father. Since that has ended, Donna is taking the time to invest in her own self care and interests.
The Perfect Pandemic Wedding by Donna Scrafano Two years before the pandemic, my granddaughter, Mariah, and her fiancé, Chris, began planning their wedding. Their first thought was to have a destination wedding in Jamaica. After several family meetings and many discussions, however, they decided that a destination wedding would be too complicated for some family Read more
Retirement, Reinventing, Redesigning by Donna L. Scrafano As a young professional and a single parent, the answer I gave when asked about retirement was, “I’ll be dropping dead at a desk somewhere because I’ll never be able to retire.” A bleak answer, for sure. As the fates would have it, I took an early, unplanned Read more
Planning Holidays In a Pandemic by Donna Scrafano Like everything else under pandemic restrictions, holidays have been and will continue to be celebrated differently in my family. When the world shut down in March, everyone seemed to be scrambling about trying to figure out how to live their daily lives. Holidays were not the main Read more
Intergenerational House Sharing by Donna L. Scrafano Last year, I was forced to make some major, life-changing decisions. My 90-year-old father, whom I was taking care of (and who has since died), was ailing, and his condition was getting worse. So we decided that it was best that he and I live with my daughter Read more
Love Out Loud By Donna L. Scrafano While we all attempt to survive this pandemic, we can’t deny that life as we once knew it has changed greatly. In addition to picking up groceries or walking into a store with our masks and armor on, we are social distancing from family and friends or not Read more
The Dreadful What-Ifs by Donna L. Scrafano Oh, what we do to ourselves by attempting to anticipate the future! During the years I worked as a Human Services professional, I often advised clients to relieve themselves of the “what-ifs”—those annoying, self-doubting questions of what may or may not happen, questions that cause us to worry Read more
Beautifully Mixed by Donna Scrafano As a young social worker, in the 1980s, I had the grand opportunity to work with a wonderful psychologist. She taught me many valuable lessons. One thing she said continues to resonate in my mind: “God made mixed children extra beautiful because he knew the special challenges they would face.” Read more
“The Book Club” and Me by Donna Scrafano Since I have been sheltering-in, so I’ve been watching a lot of movies. Mostly fun movies. Some movies I’ve seen before. One particular movie I’ve chosen to watch, and I’ve seen several times, is “The Book Club.” I had forgotten just how funny and yet truthful each Read more
When the Cavalry Doesn’t Arrive By Donna Scrafano A former supervisor once told me that if we don’t have expectations of an individual, we won’t be disappointed in them. Simple, right? Not really, especially when one is providing care to a loved one and there are others who could—and should—assist. I’ve written approximately nine articles Read more
THE CAREGIVER by Donna L. Scrafano The definition of “caretaker,” as referenced in the Webster II New Riverside Webster dictionary, reads: “one employed to look after goods, property or another person: CUSTODIAN.” Oh, if only the tasks of caretaking were so very precise, as is this definition. A few years ago, I was asked by Read more
