Last Friday started out like any other day. Back over Labor Day we drove to Kansas and got ourselves a couple of puppies from a breeder. They are fox wire haired terriers. Fun dogs, usually pretty smart and generally not hard to train. It has been a challenge training two at once, but progress has been made. Part of the process has been to have my husband stop by at lunch time and take them out and give me a break.

So last week that is what took place. My husband came home. I…

When you have children, there is a good chance that as a parent, you might be interested in their education. I grew up in a family that was first generation immigrants. My grandparents were new to this country and while they were from somewhat humble backgrounds in Europe, they were not without some experiences and worldly aspirations. They came here to do it better, "it" being living. They were motivated by politics and opportunity. 

My parents had their own achievements. At the time…

I am writing this tonight because I need to share something. I found out a friend of mine, a cyber friend, lost their wife this past week. It was very sudden. It came on the heels of so much else, job loss, losing his home and now his wife suddenly passing.

I sit here in this decorated home, with so many presents waiting to be opened, children sleeping upstairs and dogs down for the night. I sit here thinking about my friend. We have never met but he and others were writers on…

As humans we are a species organized to accept the cycle of life. We assign names to it, we refer to rituals to help us celebrate it. Customs and rituals, both religious and otherwise are practices designed to keep us together, hold families in sync with each other, and to make our worlds a little softer on the edges for all of us.

We cannot know when our last day is, our last hour, our last moment of life. We can only know it if we plan it and even then, it might not exactly…