Night Owl Cards

It's amazing how many times I remind others in my life with the oft-repeated, terribly cliched mantra, "one step at time"/"one day at a time." Yes, these words have been spoken so many times that they lack meaning. But you cannot remove the truth from them. The best way to keep from getting overwhelmed, preventing your brain from switching into overdrive, that anxiety from hitting panic level, is to pull back and focus on "what's next" and only "what's next." For instance, I found out Thursday evening that the Beckett Vintage publication with my article was out on newsstands and had been delivered to subscribers' homes. I could feel the urge rise within me: FIND A COPY NOW! One step at a time. This isn't the right time. I had a long drive ahead of me on Friday. The desire to hunt for the magazine at every potential stop along the way was strong. Instead, I took a deep breath and calculated the best chance for succes...

Memory has been on my mind, even more than usual. For the last seven months my family and I have been dealing with my mother's declining health and memory. Doctors haven't been able to provide a concrete diagnosis and health care workers and assisted living personnel have visited my folks' house so often we should install a turnstile. It's a draining situation for everyone and the demands on people's time and resources are enormous. The baffling part is my mother was an extremely healthy individual for the first 77 years of her life One day, when I was a kid, our sugar cereals disappeared out of the cupboards and my mom began cooking "healthy-alternative" meals. From that point forward, she was an encyclopedia for healthy living. The mental aspect was important to her, too. I'm still turning up crossword puzzle books at my parents' house even though she can't do them anymore. I've been reading articles about restoring mental capa...