Category Archives: Uncategorized

i’ve been out of town and I wasn’t going to write today…but it’s 8:36 pm and I can’t let this day go by without celebrating Niels. I just reread a couple posts from last year…and really I nailed it so I’ll let this one be short. My Letter to Niels – Dear Niels, I missContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Niels”

I told you to “stay tuned”…BIG decisions were in the making. This is the letter that I wrote to the owner of the Chico house that I made an offer to buy… Seems to have done the trick…as of June 13th – I’m home…again. Chico has always had an emotional pull on me. In 1980,Continue reading “556 East 4th Street”

I listen to lots of podcasts about a lot of different topics…and not surprisingly – recently, many have been about loss, grief, end of life and afterlife stories. And not to be Debbie Downer (with apologies to all the Debbies out there), I’m also drawn to stories about people finding joy in different, sometimes oddContinue reading “Trust Me – Mathematically Speaking”

“Solo” It’s a word with a new meaning for me. It used to indicate that there was a “kegger” going on. It brings memories of all those red solo cups in the hands of college students standing around in the cold, dark, damp night. Or if it was summer time, kegs floating down the SacramentoContinue reading “(Red) Solo (Cup)”

Ooof…It’s been a rough couple years. The holidays weren’t for me this year. I just couldn’t get myself interested in sleepwalking through our family traditions. Gift giving, decorating, “cheering” with cocktails…it just didn’t feel right. Friends and family were understanding and so this Christmas, we ran away and “hid”. No eggnog, no tree, no presents.Continue reading “Unbroken”

My “second mother” said three simple words to me. She said that they were the hardest words to understand – to absorb – to live… LIFE GOES ON… And as we close out 2025, a year I’d like to forget, I find myself reflecting on the truth of those words. My sister, Chris and IContinue reading “Three Words”

Love leaves – yet never leaves… I think of leaves, of the leaves of fall – the golden, ruby leaves of fall – That float away – Only to be loved by another. Another life. Another form. And then the stark, gloomy winter colors my sky… all my days… until… until the greens arrive andContinue reading “Love and Leaves”

I read the devastating headlines of the day and I feel angry and numb. Then I listen to Bruce sing “The Land of Hope and Dreams” and I cry. I cry for the dreams that were lost the day Niels died. I cry for the daughter-in-law I’d never have to cook with and laugh with,Continue reading “Why Does Bruce Make Me Cry?”

Death is personal. No two experiences are the same. Duh. It has occurred to me that in a very short period of time we have had two very different experiences with dying – the long journey and the shocking event. One is not better than the other. They both end with the same result andContinue reading “Words May Fail, but Love Never Does”

We’ve established that life is full of twists and turns. – throughout our lives we experience so many unpredictable events – joys and sorrows, curiosities and questions, fun times, dreamy times, scary times. And then…there are those events that you maybe were expecting, but the unpredictability is in the timing. Not the “if” it’s goingContinue reading “Hope and Worry”