I really am more of a dog person, but when we lived in faculty housing in California, only cats were allowed. I was enduring chemotherapy for colon cancer, and a friend advised Douglas and me that having a pet would help reduce my stress levels, so we decided to follow their advice and get a... Continue Reading →
It’s Up To Me to Fix This Mess
Yesterday, I wrote a text to my children and grandchildren to let them know that Douglas and I are planning a trip. To save time, I created a group text. I just did not want to send 16 or more texts. But, what occurred was eye-opening to me. As people started to respond to the... Continue Reading →
The Joy of Finding Answers
One of the elements of my job as a Sociology professor that I miss is research, or systematic investigations of social behavior. I have always had questions, and my mother once told me that I was born in the right times, for some of my questions would have in earlier decades have gotten me publicly... Continue Reading →
Beautiful Butterflies in the Making
As I watched through my front window, I marveled as butterflies seemed to play among themselves, flitting from one flower to the next in our front yard. I thought what beauty they bring to our hearts, for few people do not find joy in the beautiful butterflies in all of their colorful majesty. Reading the... Continue Reading →
The Dream that, Thankfully, Didn’t Come True!
I fell in love with football when I was about 11 years old, and one of my earliest dreams was to play pro football with the big boys. I did not realize at the time that girls were not allowed to play the game. I had a beloved male cousin who played for the local... Continue Reading →
Is the Love of Travel in the Genes?
My grandson leaves Tuesday for six days in Croatia, three days in London, one day in Ibiza (don't even know where that is!) and three days on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, I think. He sent me a text on Friday asking if he should go to the Amalfi Coast or Cannes. I told him... Continue Reading →
Lullabies and Nightmares
As I looked at the prompts for today, the word, lullaby, jumped out at me, for no one ever sang me to sleep with a lullaby. I did not even know any lullabies until I was an adult. Someone told me about Rock-a-Bye Baby as a means to get my infant to sleep. But, when... Continue Reading →
There is No Such Thing as an Eccentric Person
I find it amazing that the people who are most in touch with themselves, who are least likely to worry about what others think of them, and who are not afraid to flout others' expectations of them, are considered to be eccentric, meaning unconventional and slightly strange in their views and behavior. If they are... Continue Reading →
The Amazing Things You Learn When You Travel
I never thought that I would leave my hometown, much less one day walk down the Champs Elysees in Paris! Since 1997, I have been traveling alone, with tour groups, and now, with my husband, Douglas. It is impossible to over-exaggerate the benefits of traveling, for we learn so much about ourselves and others when... Continue Reading →
Confession of a Yahoo.com Lover
I admit that I don't get nearly as much done each day as I could, mostly because I seem to need to know what is new on Yahoo all through the day. I am not talking about once an hour. Multiple times an hour I am on my I-Pad or computer reading the latest news.... Continue Reading →