Many of us are dealing with something we may never have imagined: being told we can’t visit the elder we love. It was today when Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown added adult group homes to the list of nursing and other senior living centers no longer allowed to have visitors. From the scientific and health protection … Continue reading Caring for elderly during times of social distancing and isolation
joy and grief
Yes, I will use the D word
Over the last few years I have found myself avoiding using it. I might say, memory challenge, or memory loss, but not dementia. As I embrace initiatives both at work and in my community to reduce stigma associated with mental illness, I started thinking....what do I fear when I fail to call it what it … Continue reading Yes, I will use the D word
On the day you were born
Quality Pie Shop: image thanks to Stumptown Blogger. Usually I'm not a very successful audiobook listener. Often, my mind wanders, and before I know it I'm talking to myself or beginning to compose something on my own, consumed by my thoughts. Yet, sometimes when I have a long, solo car drive, I take advantage of … Continue reading On the day you were born
Where do memories go
Where do memories go when they leave you? When the you I know, no longer is the you I see. Are souvenirs of life's moments sucked up by vacuum in one fell swoop, to be sprinkled back to where they came from? Or do they float away, disappearing image by image, until it is as … Continue reading Where do memories go
Let’s talk about It
I was going to write a blog about It. Then I read a piece by Atwood, and I didn’t have anything else to say. She said it all, more eloquent than anything I could craft. Fears about It lurk in my dreams and during my awakening. Heightened as I think about our children. Earth as we have known … Continue reading Let’s talk about It
Places of thanks
Smells and images: exhilarating, filling, haunting. Before, After and Now. Snippets of memories. What happened? What didn’t? Who is to say? Then. Buckets of sand, gulls cawing, shrieking wind and penetrating rain. Feet sink deep into cold, wet sand. Salty tide pools warmed by fading sun. Sand pushes through cracks between my toes, into my nails. I extract … Continue reading Places of thanks
Even when you call me Mother
It was the moment she referred to me as her mother. Although I knew she had suffered a tough week, I recognized a subtle, uncomfortable invitation into a new place. A different stage of life, for me – her daughter - and for her. I was also confused: I thought I had already stepped well … Continue reading Even when you call me Mother
Family, friends, mountains…and moments
My mind drifts between two storylines - that of My Music Man, as I perch between excitement as I plan my book launch and worry regarding whether books will be released in time - and my still unfolding novel, Beyond the Ripples. As I backpacked earlier this week for the first time since breaking my … Continue reading Family, friends, mountains…and moments
Those things left behind
When Dad died and I helped clean out his apartment, I found a stash of Irish Spring soap. I didn't inherit Dad's need to stock up on things: I gave most away, but I took one, and now, over two years later, it still sits at my bathroom sink. Every day or so I smell … Continue reading Those things left behind
Dede's Books and blog 