Sometimes you need to be the one making the effort even if youāre not sure how it will go over. Because hereās the thing about being retired AND moving away: it...
The summer before my sixtieth birthday I had cancer. I lost weight.. a lot of weight. Cancer is scary. Radiation is horrible. But as a person who has consciousl...
āWow hey Liz! How are you? Itās been so long and you still look good. I see that youāre not on Facebook a lot so hereās my number. Give me a call or text.ā
The āyou still look goodā and āhereās my numberā should have been red flags. But I was just so excited to hear from Quincy, my old seventh grade student from 20 years ago through Facebook message. I remembered him as a quiet, good-natured kid. He struggled sometimes due to his mild hearing loss and learning challenges but he worked hard. He was a friend to all, as I recall....
Vax 1 and 2 done. Iām restless. Iām ready to rejoin the world and that means a new gym. Virtual classes had gotten really old about November. Iād come fast out ...
in honor of National Womenās Month-hereās my advice to my younger self: Speak up. Confront. Be assertive/aggressive/rude. Tell Mr. Dees everywhere.. shut the f##k up....
Liz. I donāt know why you insist on making that drive every month. Thereās gotta be plenty of good hairdressers down here.ā . And so begins my husbandās and my monthly-I wonāt call it an argument-more of a debate- about my refusal to give up my every-four-week cut and color appointment on Newbury Street in Boston even though we moved to the Southeastern Connecticut shoreline 3 years ago....
On our 20th anniversary I gave my husband an anniversary card: on the front was an old black and white photograph of a Timex watch. Inside it read āItās taken a...
So 2 years away from retirement I was being laid off from the mentoring position Iād held for the past 7 years, one of 14 elite, well-trained, experienced educators who mentored first-year teachers during their very rough and tumble rookie season. I would have a job somewhere, yes, but it was up to me to find it. WTF indeed. So I went back to my roots....
āIām sorry guys but weāre going to have to cut you.ā
āWhat? Weāve been in every production every year.ā
āI know. Iām sorry. But our funding has been dimin...
I find myself sighing a lot lately. Big heavy sighs that canāt seem to expunge the helplessness and hopelessness that seem to envelope me more than any other time in my life. I love Autumn. I love the cooler days and nights. I even love the change of time and the early darkness. But everything is so different this year that the things Iāve always embraced I find myself dreading....
āOh look at her. Thatās a nice big side of bacon.ā I heard the guys chortle behind me as I walked up the beach walkway. I had tried to avoid walking in front of them in my frayed cut-off jean shorts but somehow Iād failed. And in that way that men felt entitled to comment on a womanās body...
Have you ever taken Ativan? Iād been given the prescription right after my diagnosis of oral cancer. It takes the edge off of anxiety and calms jangled nerves. āAre you claustrophobic?ā was one of the first questions Iād been asked. I am, not to the point where I canāt ride an elevator but I donāt like crowds and hate anything covering my face. That was unfortunate since I had to be fitted......
By now everyone has a post-Covid fantasy: the ā I canāt wait to (fill in the blank) when this is all overā. Hereās mine: Cue the lights, raise the curtain, the ...
I honestly thought I was ready. Last Friday was one of those perfect early-summer evenings: sunny, warm-but not too warm- a wisp of a breeze. A perfect night to...
āStay in the plank. Stay in the plank. 5-4-3-2-1 andā¦ come down.ā
āTwo more miles. One more mile. 300 yards, 200, 100, you made it!ā 5th one this year. On tr...
I can hear you. āPatient is Female. Over 60 . Immuno -suppressed due to complications from arthritis drugs, recurrent pneumonia, lung issues Survival is doubtful. Umm.. no. Nextā And so I will be passed over for the ventilator. The fact of the matter is that Iām closer to 70 than 60....
