There are two main seasons in Phoenix: summer and winter. Our fall and spring are bypassed for long stretches of sameness. Maybe there’s a hint of spring in March, when a frail rain falls, casting a silver net over the … Continue reading →

Tonight I stay up past midnight, determined to finish a book I’ve been reading for the past two months. I read the first hundred pages during my husband’s radiation therapy, the second hundred during his unexpected five–day hospitalization when he … Continue reading →

The Start of a Collage Michael wears a black knit cap over his head and it covers the tops of his ears. He tells me the hat represents his fight against this dam disease—cancer. I begin to take photos of … Continue reading →

Selling a treadmill last weekend on Craigslist didn’t go as planned. It was part of a larger project to downsize and discard all items that tend to sit and collect dust. But there was something different about the treadmill; after … Continue reading →

Art Buchwald-1925-2007 Art’s legacy to nurses It’s not easy for someone facing death to discuss dying, give advice, or spout off clever anecdotes. It’s a personal time in one’s life that usually isn’t shared with the world. This wasn’t the … Continue reading →

My first grade teacher, Mrs. Harrison, warns me to stop laughing. She glares at me over her rimless glasses, points her index finger as if it was a toy gun, then folds her arms squarely across her chest. I look … Continue reading →