Now, I embrace my imperfect mind — After my traumatic brain injury, I scattered misplaced words and forgotten memories like seeds that will never grow on parched earth. I pounded my speech therapist’s desk, grinding my identity into the dust of silence. The injury cut out my tongue, snapped synapses in my brain. Even my thoughts stuttered. In anger, I…

How to know if you might be a junkie, plus small steps you can take to promote a healthier and longer life — Ultra-processed food, aka highly processed or junk food, now accounts for more than half of all calories consumed in the United States and the U.K., fueling soaring rates of obesity in adults and children and increasing the risk of physical disease, dementia and early death. …

Who can we trust to take care of us? — Let’s face it — getting older is stressful. We don’t know how long we will be healthy and able to care for ourselves. We may or may not have reliable family members to take care of us when the time comes. …

So, finally, it was scan day. I described the CT scan process in an earlier post, and this one went much the same way. The tech handed me a bottle of contrast dye and marked time intervals with a sharpie. “Drink down to here in 30 minutes, then drink most…

TL;DR: Get ready to fight, and don’t expect people to understand. — In July of 2020, I took over my parents’ lives. To say it’s been tough would be an understatement. …

Photo highlights of the events before and after getting COVID — December began peacefully enough. I started the month with gathering photos to fit Flickr themes and doing a photo walk to confirm some mapping I had done on some Flickr photos. Three days later on Thursday December 9, I had a dentist appointment to get a new crown, but it…

COVID-19 is a miserable experience but some positive good has come out of it — COVID-19 finally got me. It’s kept me confined to home since the middle of December. I got very sick, but not sick enough to need hospital care. I had lots of help with shopping and meals from family and friends. My brother’s wife, fully vaccinated, even came from four counties…

The result is almost instant Five years ago I tore my hip flexors and damaged my tailbone. I found something on Amazon, along with a few key stretches, and they’ve been a lifesaver. I found a back stretcher on Amazon. Here’s the link (I make no money, I’m not selling anything): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FSCCX1P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I was extremely hesitant to…

So far it’s a real pain, but these self-care measures help — An ounce of prevention, as they say, is better than a pound of cure I probably could have prevented my fall last weekend. I’ll spare you the details of how this room got so cluttered, but part of it had to do with my husband’s broken neck earlier this year, which also could have been prevented. …

This was written during the time I was caring for my mom and spending a lot of time sitting in the hospital by her bedside so that she could retain a bit of her dignity. Mom’s ailment was horrible back pain, for which she was heavily drugged. It remained undiagnosed…

What’s the same and what’s different — Why I left home and ventured out Yesterday I shopped for the first time since early March. At almost 80, I’m considered one of the most vulnerable during this coronavirus pandemic. Since Gavin Newsom told us Californians to stay home in mid-March, I have followed my county’s guidelines for activity and social distancing. I was allowed to…

Daily life while sheltering at home How the virus has limited freedoms we are used to I have grown up in the United States of America. All my life I’ve pretty much been able to go where I please when I please, subject only to the reasonable laws of my state, local, and federal governments. Now Governor Newsom has ordered…

Finding a balance between prudence and paranoia — Do you think your government is prudent or paranoid in its handling of the coronavirus? Our government officials are forcing many of us to shelter at home. As a vulnerable senior citizen, I’m supposed to stay put. I really don’t mind too much, since I rarely go out anyway. I don’t get bored because I never run out of things do to inside. …

One accident turned Mia and her husband into strangers instantly — TW/CW: Mental Health Disorders, Suicidal Thoughts, Abuse It Only Takes a Few Seconds To Change a Family’s Life Forever A response review of Always Yours, Bee: From Accident to Affair to the Ever-After by Mia Hayes. Page numbers for all quotes come from this book. Mia Hayes believed that spouses who love each other stay faithful to each other. After her husband’s…

This was written during the time I was caring for my mom and spending a lot of time sitting in the hospital by her bedside so that she could retain a bit of her dignity. Mom’s ailment was horrible back pain, for which she was heavily drugged. It remained undiagnosed…

I was afraid to explore what they really meant — The accident I was nursing an unknown virus at home for the ninth day. My husband had left about 3 p.m. to take some letters to the post office and then swim at the gym. He was dressed for swimming. As dusk approached, I thought he should have been home, but he…

Spring still brings flowers, babies, and a message of hope — “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on” So said Carl Sandburg. In early April, my first grand-niece was born. She has given me a great opportunity to get to know my nephew’s wife better. Little Ellie motivates the family to have Zoom meetings. We live hundreds of miles apart and are fortunate if we can gather together…