It is a challenge for patients in the hospital to connect with loved ones outside. When there is a sibling at home, the challenge is twofold. As a nurse with ten years of experience in the pediatric intensive care unit, I often see parents wanting to bring siblings to visit. Sometimes visits are feasible, other ...

The old man has always been there. There was never a time in my life when he didn’t show up. True, it was always according to his schedule. Time meant nothing to him. He would show up when he wanted to and leave when he jolly well pleased. No glances at the wall to check ...

There once was a free bird,Who loved to sing. There once was a happy bird,That loved to fly. There once was a content bird,Who loved to eat and drink of life. But a hunter came by,Who loved the bird’s beauty. He thought to himself,“I could only be happy with a bird like that”. So he ...

November, for me, usually involves the intense drive to finish a novel. This year I have no motivation even to open a word document. I tend to go through periods where I believe I can’t write and hate all of my characters. One solution I have is to completely start from scratch. I can start ...

It’s been a long year and a half since the pandemic hit our shores. There has been a lot of hand sanitizer under the bridge, making the time seem both elongated and truncated. Working from home turned into the new norm. Except, of course, for our front-line workers. Slowly, the rest of the workforce has ...

What do you do when you have nothing to say? The simple answer is, of course, don’t say anything. I have this issue where I want to cause the least amount of stress for everyone around me. The problem is I can’t do a lot of physical things, so I try to help out wherever ...

There is no getting around it: teaching takes energy.  Lots of it.  It takes mental, physical, and emotional grit.  It takes organization, determination, and endless exertion.  It takes wisdom, compassion, and discipline. And that is just to get through the first 10 minutes of the day. Teachers have to wear many hats: teacher, philosopher, advisor, ...

We can’t control how COVID-19 will act, but we can control how we react.  Our behavior during the coronavirus crisis matters.  How we deal with each other and our social circles is just as important as how we deal with the virus. Behavior matters. There is a story out there in cyberland about how one ...

So, you want to get a tattoo? Me too. “A tattoo is a true poetic creation and is always more than meets the eye. As a tattoo is grounded on living skin, so its essence emotes a poignancy unique to the mortal human condition.” – V. Vale  As a heavily tattooed person, I totally understand ...