After 15 years, countless doctors and hospitalizations as well as major surgery, last September doctors at National Jewish in Denver finally figured out why I was having persistent respiratory infections. New diagnoses, protocols and medications and doing every single thing the doctors tell me to do have given me nine solid months of stable health […]
Category Archives: Life Maintenance
September
21
National Jewish
posted by Weeks
My sewing machine is in Denver for the next week. I didn’t choose the dates for my visit to National Jewish in Denver which were booked long ago but they couldn’t be more perfect symbolically. That I am here to improve my health on the day in which Jews celebrate the New Year is not […]
September
14
The Gift of Slamming Doors
posted by Weeks
I began having shoulder pains out of the blue in March. I went to a nationally ranked orthopedics group in Chicago for medical advice. I failed physical therapy and was sent to a surgeon who is a team surgeon for several of Chicago’s professional athletic teams. The surgeon administered cortisone injections and said I needed […]
February
05
I was wrong
posted by Weeks
Dear America, I was wrong and I will never make this mistake again. I grew up in the Civil Rights Era. I saw America change for the better. I watched my Virginia grade school classroom become desegregated. I saw women enter the work force. I saw Title IX. Our laws changed. I became the first […]
December
05
“Troublemaker”
posted by Weeks
Those who knew me as a child and teen often called me a “troublemaker.” I spoke up about things I thought were unfair at school and even challenged older family members who made bigoted comments. When you’re a child it’s a bad thing to speak up, at least that’s what I was told. I’ll be […]
October
05
Exercise, comedy and kittens
posted by Weeks
Repeat after me: Exercise, comedy and kittens. These are the three things that will prevent you from losing your freaking mind in the next five weeks until Election Day. Let’s break it down: Exercise is a must. Not only because all of us will inevitably be nervously eating leftover Halloween candy on Election Night but […]
September
23
staying on it
posted by Weeks
About 15 years ago I was having a series of respiratory infections that were leaving me sick 50% of every month. I went to 5 different teaching hospitals in Chicago and all told me it was within the realm of asthma. I pushed on knowing that it was something else. Finally a doctor agreed in […]
August
26
Bring on the Dreamers
posted by Weeks
I turned 55 today. One of the gifts of middle age is being able, if you’re lucky, to sort through the signals that society sends you about what’s important. Society tells me that I’m supposed to care a lot about material goods, fame, my appearance and how much is in my bank account. The older […]
July
13
Emotional Safety
posted by Weeks
A week or so we dropped our almost-15-year-old daughter off at camp to begin a two-week hiking, camping and kayaking odyssey with 19 other kids in Alaska. She’s attended this sleepaway camp based in Michigan for several years. Every four years they make the trek to Alaska. She heard about it last year and has […]
January
01
A New Perspective
posted by Weeks
I love everything about New Year’s Day. I love the idea of a clean slate. I love the promise of a new year. I love the opportunity to pivot and approach life differently. While we have lots of plans that we will share with you soon, here are a couple of themes that I’ll be […]
November
22
To Each Her Climate
posted by Weeks
Every time I post on social media a picture of snow, it never fails to yield disparaging comments from people who don’t like cold weather. Many feel the need to tell me the temperature where they live as if there’s a contest and whoever lives in the warmer climate wins. “I just don’t know how […]
November
17
How to have a good day
posted by Weeks
Last week I had just finished my last teaching gig of the year and was sitting at the breakfast table wiped out. Bill was in Tennessee finishing his last teaching engagement and I had piles of laundry, stacks of contracts and dozens of emails that needed responses. The travel and deadlines had caught up with […]
October
27
Superhero
posted by Weeks
Last night at 12:50am, I was standing at the luggage carousel at Midway airport in Chicago having just returned from a very tiring industry trade show in Houston. I had been up since 7am, had to go 14 hrs without eating a real meal because I was by myself and people kept coming into the […]
August
17
The Great Start
posted by Weeks
I learned a long time ago the power of the Great Start. In many offices in which I worked over the years I didn’t have Great Starts. In fact, I had Bad Starts. I’d show up and no one would have gotten a desk ready for me. It would be as if they had forgotten […]
July
29
Excused Absence
posted by Weeks
When I last posted at the end of May I had, what I thought was, a garden-variety respiratory infection. I thought I would work my way through it in a week or so and be back at the gym in 10 days. No biggie. Then the night after I published my last post, I was […]
May
26
Maybe
posted by Weeks
If you REALLY want to drive me crazy, respond to a party invitation at our home with the word, “Maybe.” How do I buy food and drink for Maybe? Will Maybe be bringing her husband and 3 kids or are they also Maybes? Does Maybe need a chair to eat? Does Maybe have dietary issues […]
May
20
Party Mom
posted by Weeks
A parent at a soccer game seemed stunned that I offered to host the team party the night before we are also hosting the 8th grade graduation party. I hear this a lot. People intimidated by entertaining. So here’s my crash course in party-giving. Here’s what you need to do to host a party: You […]
May
11
YMCA Parent
posted by Weeks
Saturday I mentioned that at long last I got to chaperone a field trip with our daughter’s school. Given that our daughter is 13 I made a mental note that I should be careful not to do or say anything that might embarrass her. The trip was for the 7th and 8th grade classes to […]
May
09
Parent Rotation
posted by Weeks
Before I became a parent I had all kinds of dreams about things I wanted to do with my child. Some of them included volunteer roles I wanted to have at her school and in some of her activities. They were simple things like going on field trips, planning a class party, organizing the bake […]
May
02
One and Done
posted by Weeks
I have a list of things I’ve done once and have no desire to do ever again. I don’t plan to recreate my hike to the top of Mt Fuji for example. Work on an archeological dig in the summer in Louisiana with a boss who was a total jerk would be another example of […]
yes. it's my real name. 