Today’s post title is something I may ask a few more people in our orbit about: childhood cancer and beyond during September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month 2026. When I called Sister Pat Parachini this evening about a mutual friend of ours who passed away this week, I had the opportunity to ask her the question above (or answer it). From Sister Pat, pastoral care at Georgetown University Hospital for six years, starting in 1997: “One thing I wish people knew was that yo

The French Provinçial Dining room set we’ve had in our homes since we married in 1987 was purchased from my Aunt Mary a few months before saying “I do.” Many meals, Cookie Exchanges, Thanksgivings for 18 family members, and wild games of Yahtzee, Quiddler, Life, Sorry, Sequence, Code Names, Boggle, and more, plus my sewing machines and quilting bees, have all gathered around the top of the pecan table (though covered with protector pads and tablecloths through the decades). T

Yesterday was a good friend’s birthday. I reached out to her early in the morning to celebrate her milestone bday - 65 and Medicare eligible! Later in the morning, I headed to a funeral for another good friend’s husband's celebration of life, with the mass and reception following (he passed away last month). These two celebrations reminded me how fragile and fleeting life truly is. How many more birthdays will we have? How many summers do we have left? For me, it’s a wake-up

Siblings are often your first friends, and perhaps, if things go awry in our lives, they become our supporters to help us through...