About Me — @dunelair: Sue Moran Thole Stability and Change — My Life’s Constants

The challenges are only going to get bigger As my birthdays ticked by, I decided my goal was to “age gracefully.” Little did I know how hard it would be to achieve that goal. Years ago, my best friend, Helen, was twenty years older than I, and when she retired…

Lawn, pasture, ocean, desert… all speak to our primitive selves — I never go barefoot anymore; my feet are too tender. It has been decades since my feet had that end-of-summer toughness from many long days of going barefooted everywhere. As a child I practically lived outside. My mother taught me names of birds, trees, and wildflowers; Dad gave me a…

Dr. Seema Patel’s Posts About Her Return Home to Rural India — Weeds and Wildflowers reaches across many differences. I especially appreciate that many writers come from countries other than the United States. Their descriptions of where and how they live intrigue me. The ways they reach out to the world charm me. My mother instilled in me a deep desire to…

I want to learn how to savor my Journey through old age — Throughout my first 80 years, my unanalyzed self-identity was that of a striver. As the first child of a couple who’d had rough upbringings in rural West Virginia during the Depression, my parents encouraged me to work hard to learn as much as possible. They wanted me always to do…

This Stunning Novel Stimulates Varied Emotions — I have long been a fan of Willa Cather and Wallace Stegner. I like the believability of their quiet, simply told stories of life in the Midwest. My book club introduced me to a living novelist who writes in a similar vein. However, William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace shocks the…

I’m Counting my Blessings — It would be easy to list numerous reasons why I am angry, have suffered needless pain, and blame myself for missteps over the last four years — and even my lifetime. However, as my husband reminds me, it is better to focus on the present and the plus side. That…

One Thing Led to Another Step by Step In July of 2017, I flew to Santa Fe and spent a week with my sister Sherrie. …

Toward a Better Understanding of Their Behaviors Book recommendation: Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying, by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley. If we live a long or even average life span, we will likely experience one or more lingering deaths of someone close to…