Experiencing my Mother’s death was a profound experience for me. For almost 18 months I prayed that I would be able to be with her when she passed away. I thought it was what I wanted. And then it happened. At 2:42am on November 15th, I was the only one at Mom’s bedside when she…

When I was 19 I came up with a brilliant solution to a minor problem. I shared a small Toyota truck with my mom, but she must have been using it, because on this particular day I got permission to use my dad’s car; a white 1983 Caprice Classic. It was big and boat-like, and…

Muscles are made of thousands of fibers, that are kind of elastic in nature. When a muscle is exerted, it sustains tiny tears. The tiny fibers of the muscle are actually damaged. Then the body repairs those damages, and the muscle size is increased. Repeat this process with consistency a few times a week, by…

My husband is 50% German. His mother and grandmother escaped from East Germany in 1951 and eventually joined other family members who had already settled in Salt Lake City, UT. Paul, my husband, grew up with many German influences; the food, holiday traditions, the language, lederhosen…. and coffee. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ…

It’s commonly known that when we feel purposeful, we live longer, fuller lives. It’s also well known that challenges are stressful. Let’s now consider how stressful challenges create purpose, and therefore, longer and fuller lives. You with me? Consider an aging couple; the husband’s health is declining, his wife takes on more and more duties…

When was the last time you felt stressed? Stress is not only an emotion, but a physiological response our body experiences when it senses danger. It stirs us into protective action to run, fight, or freeze. It probably wasn’t that long ago that you experienced it – so congratulations! Stress is actually good for you:…

For 8 years I was house-hungry. At some point during each of those years I cycled through a pity-party-tantrum of life isn’t fair, I hate renting, my life sucks. The recession of 2007 hit exactly as my husband was switching jobs and we moved from Colorado Springs to Grand Junction, Colorado. We were unable to…

I bought a planner for 2021. For several reasons I haven’t used a planner for at least 20 years; there are too many cute ones and it’s hard to pick one.  I couldn’t justify the cost when a combination of a wall calendar and my phones’ calendar seemed to work fine. And then what if…

During the last several months of her life, my Mom received phone calls and visits from many friends. The two that stood out to me the most were Ruthanne, her childhood best friend, and Sharon, her cousin. These two were at the top of her list to contact when she passed away. The day she…

This Blog post almost didn’t happen. Due to all the Christmas preparations going on and a short visit from my youngest brother, I almost forgot to write it. When I did remember, there was a lot of resistance from my brain. ” I don’t want to do that.” “I don’t know what to write.” “It’s…