My Parents’ Engagement Party
My parents were married in June 1955, after about seven years of dating—they’d met as high school freshmen and begun dating when they were sophomores. Their relationship survived the remainder of high school and four years at different colleges. Sixty-two years ago this month, in December 1954, during Christmas break of their senior year of […]
The Rest of the Part-Time Story
A few months ago I wrote a post about my father telling me I should take “a nice part-time job” and how angry that made me. This post is a confession—I asked for that advice. Well, not for that advice specifically, but for any advice he could give me during a very difficult period in […]
World Gratitude Day
September 21 is World Gratitude Day, a day celebrated since 1966 when an international group meeting in Hawaii agreed to designate a day to express gratitude and appreciation for the many wonderful things to be found in the world. I haven’t taken much time to be grateful in the last couple of years. I’ve been […]
Old LPs: Finding My Youth and Throwing It Away
A few weeks ago my husband decided to give away all his unused audio equipment to Audio Reader, a service sponsored by the University of Kansas to provide radio for the blind and print-disabled. Audio Reader has a 24/7 broadcast of volunteers reading newspapers, magazines and books, and other programs of interest to the aging […]
The Importance of Brag Files—My Father’s and My Own
During my first visit to my father’s house after his death, I reviewed all the papers in his office. There were at least six file drawers, plus a two-shelf cupboard, plus two plastic boxes under a desk—all crammed full of neatly labeled folders, and all the folders were stuffed with papers. I packed about six […]
Flags and Foreboding
For the Fourth of July when I was seven, someone gave my brother (who was almost six) and me U.S. flags—one for each of us. Each flag was about 12 inches by 18 inches, and it was stapled to a thin dowel about two feet long. The dowel had a pointed tip at the top […]
A Story I Couldn’t Tell Before: The Time Dad Cussed At Me
I only remember my father swearing at me once. I heard him curse in general on occasion—a “hell” or a “damn” when he pounded a finger while hammering or the like. And he’d call politicians “damn idiots” sometimes. But he didn’t even say these things often in my presence when I was a kid. The […]
Highland Fling or Irish Jig?
In June 1992, the same month that my kids spent at camp in North Carolina, my parents toured the British Isles. In fact, part of the reason we sent our kids to the June camp session was so they could visit my parents later in the summer, after my parents returned from Europe. Unfortunately, my […]
On Cats and Cat Pillows
On a chair in my guest room sit two handmade pillows with cats on them. Although I have owned dogs most of my married life, I really consider myself a cat person. But my husband is not. He wants dogs, only dogs. I embroidered one of the pillows when I was in college. It was […]
Six Things My Father Did Right on Estate Planning
In addition to remembering your loved ones on this Memorial Day, perhaps you should consider how you want to be remembered when you are gone. I have just completed the administration of my parents’ estates after my father’s sudden death about seventeen months ago. During this emotional and time-consuming process, I often had reason to […]