Widowhood: The New Normal by Alice Adams After the funeral is over, after the casseroles, cakes, and pies quit coming and after your family, friends, and neighbors go back to their regular routines, you find yourself suddenly alone. Oh yes, there’s much to be done—paperwork with the bank, insurance companies, etc. There are usual bills Read more
Written by Amy Crooks. I’m not sure why the topic of menopause is taboo. Once in a while, I will hear a friend say something about hot flashes, or watch them as they suddenly start sweating and peel off their clothes. But I really haven’t heard much from my friends or colleagues on this topic. No menopause stories, no trials and tribulations. Even friends who have reached the other side, barely mention what they went through. Read more
A Honeybee Apiary: Am I Helping Them or Are They Helping Me? by D’Cai Rhodes At fifty-four years old, I found myself unemployed, living in my travel trailer, and heartbroken. A successful safety professional, firefighter, and paramedic in my younger years, I never felt I’d be in this position. Refusing to allow myself to be down Read more
Foolish Things We Did for Love by Angie Littlefield I first spotted the rock through an opening in the shrouding forest. It rose up 30 feet from the river about a mile above Kakabeka Falls. I could see people diving from the top of the rock into the river. They swam in a broad arc towards Read more
The Aftermath: A Community Scattered by Michael Orr Six months ago, life changed for us in every way. On November 8, 2018, the Camp Fire engulfed the town of Paradise, California and several nearby smaller-communities. The wind-driven fire left more than 11,000 homes in ashes and took the lives of at least 85 people. Ninety-five Read more
The Impact of Subtle Losses by Ilissa Jae Ducoat, LPC, FT My heart broke for my 11-year-old son after he found our hidden stash of stuffed tigers. What??? When he was a baby, my son’s main man was a little stuffed tiger named Mo. He didn’t use a pacifier, but sucked on Mo’s paws to Read more
I Love You, Marie Kondo by Grace Ann Stevens I have never had an addiction, at least not until now. But I recently have fallen madly in love with Marie Kondo and her Netflix show Tidying Up. I have known for a long time that I needed to clean out my closets but have been procrastinating Read more
The Thief of Time: Deferment and Procrastination My advice is, never do to-morrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time. Charles Dickens by Lucy E.M. Black Often at the end of a busy day, my partner will look at me and say, “We got a lot done!” Both of us have crazy Read more
Love & Fidelity: For Better or Worse by Tracy E. Hill, Ph.D. As a practicing educational psychologist and counselor, I see many couples and individuals for relationship counseling. Typically, people seek counseling when their relationship has gone sour or is facing a particular crisis. Rarely do couples seek counseling when their relationship is doing well. Read more
Why Creativity Matters: Ten Minutes a Day by Lucy E.M. Black Think LEFT and think RIGHT and think LOW and think HIGH. Oh, the THINGS you can think UP if only YOU try. –Dr. Seuss In the rush of our lives, it does not often seem possible to squeeze in time to paint, draw, write, Read more
