November days
I was 17 years old the day that my dad died from a sudden and massive heart attack. All 36 students in my senior high school class came to the funeral home, as did many of the faculty members. The art teacher gave me the longest and strongest hug that I had ever received. Later I wondered if she ha...Read full story »
Thursday, November 10, 2016
The summer of 1963
When I was 12, things weren’t going so well in my home. That summer, I found myself on a train traveling to northern Wisconsin with my mother. Our trip ended in a very small town near Green Bay, and it began my wonderful Norman Rockwell summer. We stayed in my grandparents’ home; and fr...Read full story »
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Retirement
I read an article recently that offered four ideas about how to spend your time in retirement. The co-authors suggested that life in retirement is probably pretty similar to the life we lived while we were in the work force. If we were busy then, we will probably stay busy now by wrapping a structu...Read full story »
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Transforming a neighborhood through hospitality and prayer
About 25 years ago, a woman moved into my neighborhood, and I can honestly say that she changed my life. And not just mine. She had moved to Indiana from Kentucky. Her newly-retired husband had suffered a stroke, and she was confined to her new home because of heavy-duty care giving for him. As I b...Read full story »
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Exercise class shines a light on seniors
In mid-March, I attended my first exercise class for senior citizens. At first it was a struggle to keep up with the pace of the class and distinguish between my left and my right. Some days I was so clumsy that I was painfully reminded that I didn’t take dance lessons as a kid. But I stuck w...Read full story »
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Tears of sorrow, tears of joy
I’ve been in a Bible study with three faith-filled women for about 20 years. During that time, we have studied the Word of God together, and we have shared many important events including the births and the deaths and the marriages of our loved ones. We have laughed the best laughs together a...Read full story »
Friday, June 17, 2016
Life lessons
When I was a young girl living at Our Lady of Grace Academy, my evenings ended with a light tap on my bedroom door. Every night, as faithful and as welcome as a gentle rain, I found Sister Harriet Woehler standing there waiting to tell me good-night and to make the Sign of the Cross on my forehead....Read full story »
Thursday, May 12, 2016
We are the temples of the Holy Spirit
I was pretty sick most of this past winter, and I’m happy to report that I am feeling a whole lot better. There were days when I couldn’t find my energy. I’d like to say that I spent a lot of time praying and reading Russian novels, but that didn’t happen. My friend, Donna,...Read full story »
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
The Thin Place
This story has a happy ending; I promise.A few weeks ago, I got a call from my ob-gyn’s office. The caller seemed to take about 12 minutes — not really — to tell me that the results from my recent mammogram seemed a little murky. My words, not hers.They wanted me to come back for...Read full story »
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Retirement seems to be working
The words in I Corinthians 13 remind us that when we are children, we speak like children, we understand like children, and we think like children. During this last month, I’ve become a retiree. That means that I am learning to speak, understand and think like someone in a new and untested st...Read full story »
Thursday, February 11, 2016
