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Weekend Wanderer: Memory Care or Assisted Living?
So I walked Willie to memory care, a meandering journey through the independent living building to the joint assisted living/memory care building at the Temple of Doom. And she was … fine. No fight. No protests. That — that isn’t Willie. Willie’s a fighter. Willie loves nothing more than a good fight. Even when there’s…
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Ditch New Year’s Resolutions! Try the Winter Arc
Let’s be honest with each other. By January 31st, those New Year’s resolutions are long gone, right? I mean, sure. Perhaps the more regimented among us last until Groundhog Day. Or maybe you’re like my husband, who sets goals instead of resolutions. But for us mere mortals, the Associated Press says the end of January…
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Weekend Wanderer: The Trek to Memory Care
So where were we? Oh yes. The Upper Moreland police found Willie standing on the corner of Byberry and Davisville Roads on a blustery night in early December. The police officer took Willie back to the Temple of Doom. That was when he called me. “Is she OK?” I asked. The officer said Willie was…
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Weekend Wanderer: A Romance for the Golden Years
We’ll get to Willie’s move next week. We have to discuss Willie’s boyfriend. Yep. Willie has a boyfriend. I was visiting Willie one day. She complained about a fellow widow. This widow, she said, was not moving on. This widow needed a life. “Look at me,” Willie said. “I miss Indy. But I…
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Weekend Wanderer: Another Christmas to Remember
Around my house, the holidays tend to involve some Black Christmas-level drama. Indy went to Marion’s bar in Nepal six days before Christmas, two years ago. Let me tell you something. Nothing puts you in the Christmas spirit like planning a funeral. You know, the funeral home was decorated for Christmas. That was weird. People…
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Weekend Wanderer: Is it Christmastime?
At 5:18 on the morning of Nov. 14, PhillyBurbs.com proclaimed, “The holiday season is here.” On Thanksgiving Day, PhillyVoice laid down the gauntlet. “Once the Thanksgiving meal is done, it’s game over for the last holdouts; you’re in the yuletide whether you like it or not.” I love the sentiment. And the solid use of…
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Weekend Wanderer: The Taxes Are Done
Thanksgiving is close. Close enough to taste creamy mashed potatoes. Thick gravy. That uncle’s dripping sarcasm. Please. Everybody has that uncle. I’m sharing what I’m grateful for. Willie’s taxes are done. And it only took 19 months. Nineteen months of looking for five years’ worth of tax documents. Nineteen months of calling government agencies. Nineteen…
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Weekend Wanderer: A Few Kids and a Sick Dog, Part 2
When we last left the hapless me, my daughter was home after her college campus shut down. And my dog had diarrhea. Now, my dog, Pete, had just been to the vet for a check-up. They assured me Pete living another three years — through my younger child’s freshman year of college — was an…
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Weekend Wanderer: A Few Kids and a Sick Dog, Part 1
I’m going to tell you — warn you? — right now. This story is a two-parter. So much happened in October. I mean, yes, you’re right. Not as much as happened in December of that awful, awful year. And certainly nothing as bad. But it was still quite the October. Since we’re doing a two-parter…
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Weekend Wanderer: Oh, My Aching … Everything
I’m playing hurt. You’ll recall that time I tripped over my son, spraining both wrists, bruising both knees, and tearing my jeans. Those bruises on my knees lasted 14 months. Fourteen. I’ve had boyfriends for less time than those bruises. And the sprained wrists bought me six weeks of physical therapy. Again with the boyfriends. …
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Weekend Wanderer: A Ghost Story … Maybe
Last year, I told you a spooky tale, a true story, about a time I was certain — so certain! — someone was in the house with me. I have another chiller for you, something for the crunching leaves and dark afternoons. When I’m home alone, I turn my bedroom lights on while the sun…
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Weekend Wanderer: The Thriller I Just Watched Reminds Me of This Cherished Family Tradition
By the time you read this, I’ll be at the cabin. The cabin was once a routine destination for me. But life happens and now it’s been a year since I graced its cozy innards. Wait. Did I just say that? Cozy? Huh. Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Oddly enough, I…
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Weekend Wanderer: I’ve Been Up to No Good Behind My Husband’s Back
I’ve been cheating. Netflix cheating. It’s not my fault. Factors beyond my control led to my deceit. Also, my husband Netflix cheated on me first. So there’s that. Are the strict categories I have for my shows contributory to my cheating? No. They’re not. Just stop. I can’t watch a show I binge during workouts…
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Weekend Wanderer: You’re Camping Where?
I couldn’t tell you the entire story behind our houseguests. Until now. See, I didn’t want you to know I’ve been alone since they left. I — I didn’t want to get murdered. Stop. I’m not being ridiculous. I’ve listened to every podcast episode of Unsolved Mysteries. Twice. So I know what I’m talking about. …
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Weekend Wanderer: Houseguests Make Me Frantic
When my husband started hunting, I mean, really leaned into it — target in the backyard, arrow holes in the shed wall, multiple game freezers in the garage — he joined an organization. A hunting organization. Well, it’s actually a hunting, fishing, and general outdoorsy-type-people organization. Their missions include protecting public lands and getting people…
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Weekend Wanderer: I Rented a Hot Car
I am the first person ever to rent a car. Now, I know what you’re saying. And you’re right. My husband did, in fact, rent a car recently. It was a bright blue Nissan Kick. Each time my husband started the car, its Bluetooth tried connecting to Ihor’s phone. We don’t know Ihor. But we…
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Weekend Wanderer: It Was a Bad Week
It was one of those weeks. You know the kind. The Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day weeks. The SpaceCamp weeks. The Deep Blue Sea weeks. A week where everything goes wrong. It started with my daughter, who plans to join her college scuba club. So I can live in abject…
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Weekend Wanderer: How Many Shopping Services Does One Woman Need?
Near the end of Poltergeist, an invisible entity holds mom Diane in her bedroom, preventing her from reaching her children. Her screaming children, settled in the very bedroom responsible for sucking one of them into the television at the movie’s start. I mean, do you hate your kids, Poltergeist mom? Breaking free, Diane finds the…
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