A month ago my mom passed away. I have learned far more than I wanted to about life and death over the last 15 months: how to work with attorneys, accountants, funeral directors, insurance companies, healthcare professionals, and the like. One thing I know for sure is that we are all uncomfortable when it comes to expressing condolences; in large part that is because reacting to someone else’s loss means remembering those we’ve loved and lost and those who are yet to come. If we don’t talk about it, maybe it won’t happen. Unfortunately that’s not the way it works, folks. Since many of us are a bit slack-jawed when it comes […]
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The Tale of Mama Duck
The night before my wedding my dad asked me if we could have a “talk.” I was 23 by this time and already knew a thing or two about the birds and the bees, so this conversation was a little … well… uncomfortable. As it turned out, Dad’s objective wasn’t to tell me about the facts of life at all, but rather to remind me that having children wasn’t a necessary ingredient for a happy marriage. Truth be told, he was worried that I would die in childbirth. You see, I’m a mere 4’ 10” and my husband is 6’2”, so his concerns weren’t outside the realm of possibility. My […]
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