Bereaved and Blessed

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

January 19, 2022

Every morning when my dad’s alarm went off on his iPhone, he was awakened by The Rolling Stones singing one of his all time favorite songs, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” I grew up loving that song and the movie The Big Chill (which has the most incredible soundtrack), because Dad introduced me […]

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Rewind 2021

December 31, 2021

10 years ago I participated in a year-end blog meme for the first time called Rewind 2011, with fun and interesting questions designed to get writers and readers to reflect on our lives in 2011. I did so again the following year, with my Rewind 2012. Ever since I did this writing exercise those two […]

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Today You Are Eighteen

October 2, 2021

18!!! How is that possible?! It is such an exciting milestone, that also carries with it much responsibility. Which is reminiscent of a famous quote, often attributed to your favorite superhero, Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The last year you have definitely been learning that “Peter Parker” principle, often the hard way. That […]

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Today You Are Twelve

September 17, 2021

If ever there was a year where it seems like I blinked and it was your birthday again, it might be this one. In some ways it feels as if you just turned 11 and in other ways it has been a really long year, with so many plot twists. We certainly hoped that by […]

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In Lieu of Flowers

August 7, 2021

When my mom and dad had their first child, my older sister Meg, in July 1970, my maternal grandparents offered to gift them a framed fine art print of their choice, in lieu of sending a bouquet of flowers, to celebrate the occasion of the birth of their first grandchild. My parents chose an Andrew […]

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My Eulogy for Dad

July 22, 2021

As I shared in my last post, three weeks ago today (Thursday, July 1, 2020) my Dad died unexpectedly. On Saturday, July 10, 2020, we had his funeral at St. Nick’s Parish church in Evanston and laid him to rest at Memorial Park cemetery in Skokie. As the spirit moves me, I will share memories […]