Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: Aging in Abundance
In Parenting and Other Things: The Gift of a Bad Memory
I read an article a few days ago entitled, “Rare detailed personal memory a burden, and ultimately a gift,” about a young woman who could remember every day of her life in complete detail. Every day. Every detail – what day of the week it… Continue Reading “In Parenting and Other Things: The Gift of a Bad Memory”
Hygge Friday Round-Up
Hygge (hue-guh) is the art of wintering gracefully. It’s about making the ordinary lovely and warm but in small everyday ways, intentional but undetectable. It’s a Danish thing. I have a Danish friend whose name is Marcia. She takes hygge with her wherever she… Continue Reading “Hygge Friday Round-Up”
Head Spinning
A few nights ago, I searched for old boyfriends on social media. I found one from when I was 19. When I met him, he was a few years older than me, had just returned from Vietnam, and had his jaw wired shut as… Continue Reading “Head Spinning”
I Know My Place
On the bus last night, doing outreach to homeless people in our town, bundling up hot meals in plastic bags, forgetting sometimes to include a fork because I always make at least one error when I am doing this work, I loved my colleagues… Continue Reading “I Know My Place”
Life is a Blur
I have cataracts, just like my old dogs who are dead now but not from cataracts, from other things that happen at the same time like extreme old age which I don’t have yet but I’m working on it, the cataracts giving me a… Continue Reading “Life is a Blur”
My Face, My Beautiful Face
It was my first time. I’d never had anyone fuss with my face, shape my eyebrows, those were things other women did, not me. I lay back on the table and she put a pillow under my knees. As she studied my face, she… Continue Reading “My Face, My Beautiful Face”
The Fall
I fell. I fell on a boat ramp that had jagged rows of bumpy concrete intended to prevent falling. I gripped the end of the kayak in my right hand, faced up the ramp like I had done so often before, and waited for… Continue Reading “The Fall”
Unbeknownst to Me
My dog has a dent in her head about two inches long and an inch wide and I never saw it before the vet pointed it out this morning. “She has partial facial paralysis,” he said, adding that was why her left eye was… Continue Reading “Unbeknownst to Me”
Sallie’s Funeral
I went to Sallie’s funeral today. It was in a very old Episcopal church downtown, the kind where you need to leave your coat on because the heat, what there is of it, will rise to the very top of the vaulted ceiling and… Continue Reading “Sallie’s Funeral”
Turning 70
I feel my bravado weakening. Last night, lying in bed with my husband, I told him that unless I killed myself in the next 45 minutes I was going to become a 70-year woman at midnight. And then I went to sleep. This morning… Continue Reading “Turning 70”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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