life lessons

Amid the loss caused by ALS were important lessons on how to live

My late husband, Jeff, was diagnosed with ALS just before Thanksgiving in 2018. His diagnosis had come swiftly — we’d first heard mention of ALS in July and his illness was confirmed in October, backed by a second opinion in November. Because there’s no definitive test for ALS,…

A childhood curveball at Halloween guides me in living with ALS

Being told I had ALS felt as if a rug had suddenly been pulled out from under me. My world changed all at once, with no possibility of turning it back. That happened in 2010, and it was certainly a major curveball in my life. But I’ve been living…

The Redemptive Power of a Stroll on the Beach

“Tracing your footprints in the sand, Trying to walk like a man, … But I didn’t think there’d be so many steps I’d have to learn on my own. Well I was young and I didn’t know what to do,…

Expanding World, Shrinking World

When I was a child, my elderly great-aunt Martha joined my family every Christmas Eve to participate in gift opening. I felt bad that she only got one present while my brothers and I received so many. But she seemed happy with the pair of slippers or homemade ornaments my…