
Write Along with Me
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I started this blog in spring 2010 to center around the fall publication of my career memoir, Caring Lessons A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self. Since June of 2012, my goal has been to blog, from the perspective of a retired nurse, on writing, growing older, and living in Chicago.
Write Along with Me
2M ago
I’m on my way home now— over 2,000 miles across the Pacific from the Hawaiian Islands to LA. This Viking cruise was literally just a taste. I remember our first trip abroad was called The Taste of Europe. The idea was to sample several countries and then return to the favorites for an in-depth look ..read more
Write Along with Me
2M ago
I’m happy to repost my friend Marianna’s account of our recent Chicago weekend. We had to repeat last year’s trip to Printers Row Lit Fest, minus my face plant on Michigan Avenue, so we’d replace the unpleasant memories of that earlier trip. We had a marvelous time! Back to Chicago: A Second Chance My friend Lois ..read more
Write Along with Me
3M ago
Last night, I looked at a recent doctor’s report. I was surprised to find, due to transcription error, I was either 8 or 80, neither of which is true. I marvel now, at almost 83, that I’ve survived my move but may not survive this aftermath. A few examples: I had to move a chair ..read more
Write Along with Me
4M ago
This morning I woke up crying. As is my habit, I’d turned off my alarm earlier and asked Alexa to play”gospel hymns.” Then I drifted off and eventually woke up to the words and tune of a song I’d never heard before. As I lie in bed and listened, tears came. Here are the words ..read more
Write Along with Me
6M ago
My friends and family know I love to take writing classes in Iowa City. A few weeks ago, I took my nineteenth course. I specifically looked for an easy class, because I didn’t want to churn out several pages a day or give written feedback each night to my fellow eleven students. So I signed ..read more
Write Along with Me
7M ago
Summer time, especially today with overcast skies, merits a trip into family nostalgia. Look what I found on an old external hard drive: A delightful sibling memory!
From the file: Lois Roelofs/Stories//10-25-2001
You have to meet my sister Rose. She can change your life if you’re not careful. Recently, I made a major career decision based on something she said. And I wasn’t even aware of it at the time.
As the second oldest of my three sisters, Rose is 66 years ..read more
Write Along with Me
8M ago
My long-time nursing friend, Marianna Crane, deals with the uncertainty of aging like most of us in our 80s. I’m reblogging her blog post because we can learn from her experience and learn about a benign brain tumor most of us have never heard of, but, if present, greatly hangs over one’s life.
Traveling with a Brain Tumor: Beach Trip vs a River Cruise on the Rhine
Last week we drove to Wrightsville Beach, a consolation beach trip instead of going on a European River Cruise. Ernie wasn’t comfortable traveling overseas with a brain tumor. A two hour drive to the beach seemed more doable t ..read more
Write Along with Me
9M ago
It’s been a few weeks since the April A to Z challenge, and I’d like to say that I’ve been reclining on a chaise lounge, reading inspirational romance novels, and sipping chamomile tea served with clotted cream on homemade scones. But I’d be lying.
Instead, I apparently betrayed my body that was trying to tell me to do the above, but my brain has an unbreakable habit of not listening to the fibromyalgia flares I’ve had off and on for 25 years.
But I’m up and running, actually moseying, around again, and this is what I have to say today.
Listen to your body. It is smarter than you and me. Espec ..read more
Write Along with Me
10M ago
Zonk–to fall soundly asleep or relax completely. The last day of the Blogging from A to Z in April challenge.
Ready to zonk out accurately describes my life at 82 at this time! I always want to finish something I’ve started, but completing A to Z has been a challenge. Each blog post takes one to three hours a day depending on what WordPress challenges I encounter along the way. I look forward to having those hours back as discretionary time!
However, it’s been fun to meet old friends and new that have stopped by my blog this past month. I hope I’ve given you a flavor of what a day-to-day life ..read more
Write Along with Me
10M ago
Yesterday, I woke up to torrents of rain. I’d already been wondering what to write about for the letter Y, and as I watched the rain, the song You Are My Sunshine came to mind.
Not a warm and cozy weekend welcome!
It took me awhile to find a rendition on YouTube that I liked, but here is one by Christina Perri . Her voice was sweet and tender, but also wistful. It brought me back to yesteryear. Especially to the sunny times with my late husband, and then to the sadness of waking up to find he’s no longer here.
Driving to church, I thought to look for other examples of YOU that hit home. I open ..read more