That blog title may sound a little callous but let me explain. There definitely was more to cry about than laugh about but I chose to concentrate on laughter. Sadly, Kathie passed away November 3rd. She had been the love of my life for 53 years. December 19th would have made it 54 years. I pride myself even though Kathie pleaded with me to bring her home from the Wheaton Care Center every time I went to visit her, I…..
I realized the invasion had begun when I decided to attend the high school football game in Wheaton a couple weeks ago. It was a very cold evening, so I decided to go in search of my winter boots that I had purchased a couple years ago. Barely broken in with nary a scuff mark on the black part of the boot and camouflaged material near the top. They were beauties! They were packed in a plastic container and stored…..
Daughter Jill messaged me, inviting me to take a road trip with her and her sister, Bonnie. “And where might that be?” I inquired. “Missouri”, was her reply. Jill’s and Greg’s son Logan and his fiancé are living in Boonville, Missouri. Logan attends vet school in Columbia and his fiancé, Laney is a FFA teacher in a neighboring town. Meanwhile I am struggling in Wheaton as Kathie tries to accept the fact that the care center is her new home. …..
My wife Kathie has been in the nursing home now, beginning her fourth month. For me it has been a painful, excruciating experience. If Kathie read this she would snort and say, “How do you think I’m feeling buster?” And she would have a valid point. Her memory loss has touched my heart like no other experience in our marriage. When I visit her in the care center her first question is, “Can I come home with you tonight?” If…..
For the past thirty-seven years I have been living a dream. In sixth grade I remember classmates gathered around my writing assignment that my teacher had posted on the classroom’s bulletin board. It was a report about my favorite bird when one of my classmates said, “Mike, you are a good writer!” I’ve always enjoyed a little praise now and then. It’s good for the soul and good for one’s confidence. Thank you, classmate for making that comment as it…..
As you are probably already aware my wife Kathie is in the Wheaton Care Center. During my frequent visits to the Center, I have been introduced to the traveling nurses. Traveling nurses have no hospital or care center to call home. Instead, they sign on to various hospital or care centers to work a set number of days and then move on to a new work site. Over the past couple of weeks, I have copied their work style. No,…..
The “situation” began when my wife, Kathie, and I attended our granddaughter’s violin concert. Now I’m more of a guitar type enjoyer of music but thanks to our granddaughter her music won me over and now I consider the guitar and the violin equally enjoyable. We were early for the concert so there were many seats available. Finding comfortable seats, we settled in and waited for the concert to begin. We had twenty minutes to kill before the concert began…..
My wife Kathie has been in the nursing home for the past two months. She is struggling because she cannot understand why she can’t be home with me. This has led to bouts of anger which is painful for both of us. Then I got a brilliant idea! I wrote for the magazine Minnesota Out of Doors from 1985 to 1991. I wrote a children’s column where I featured our family. Our three children, Steve, Jill and Bonnie would go…..
With that blog title I’m thinking I know what you are thinking. You are getting ready to enjoy a wild west cattle drive.That would be wrong cowboy! 🙂If you are a television watcher, you probably have watched the commercial a thousand times. In fact, I can almost repeat it verbatim.Roundup is a nasty chemical used to kill all weeds as well as most farm crops. If the applier of the chemical is exposed to it without, rubber gloves, mask, rubber…..
When I was a student teacher back in l967 I was assigned to do my student teaching at the Wheaton High School in Wheaton, Minnesota. Little did I know at the time that Wheaton was going to become my life- long – home. The biggest shock would be that my future wife, Kathie, was in the building, finishing up her high school career! Okay, okay, none of this ‘robbing the cradle’ crap! I never even talked to her. I will…..