Originally published in Crow's Feet: Life As We Age on Medium.

Grief and hope

When my husband, David, was diagnosed with ALS, the grief began the moment we heard the words. Grief for the life we knew.

I wanted to rewind time, back just one week to when life felt ordinary. Normal. But that normal had quietly slipped away long before the diagnosis. The...

 Originally published in Crow's Feet: Life As We Age on Medium.

How Shutterfly helps me move forward without letting go

Am I the only one who stops breathing when Shutterfly (or its equivalent) sends the message, “Your memories from this week sixteen years ago”?

I immediately do the mental math. How old were my kids then? What stage of life were we in...

Originally published in Crow's Feet: Life As We Age on Medium.

How loss, aging, and a tattoo helped me rediscover my strength

I never thought I’d get a tattoo. I remember the guys in high school debating what they’d have inked on their shoulders for all time — Mighty Mouse, Superman, a monster truck. Really? I couldn’t imagine anything so significant t...

Originally published in Crow's Feet: Life As We Age on Medium.

Sometimes the most powerful lessons come from the chair next to you

Years ago, after paying too much money at a fancy hair salon for what I considered an underwhelming result, I asked a friend for a recommendation. She happily referred me to her go-to lady who served her entire family’s wel...