Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Columns”
Dear Tracey, Can you tell my why some people are so hell bent on refusing to wear masks? I don’t get it. My mother is in an assisted living place and she’s terrified the virus will get in there and infect all of them. She says she feels like a “sitting duck” and I don’t blame her. She calls it …
It’s closing in on that time of year when so many different graduations are on the horizon. We happily attend the ceremonies and then join family and friends to honor our graduate, appreciating these social rituals that mark special milestones in life. Whether it’s a graduation ceremony and party, a wedding, family reunion, or a funeral and a wake, rituals …
Dear Tracey, Pease help us. My whole family is upset because we can’t get my 77 year old dad to stay home like he is supposed to. He says this is all a “big fat hoax” and that nobody is going to tell him “what to do.” He insists he “feels fine.” This attitude of his is especially ridiculous …
Where to even begin? When I wrote my last column my husband and I were on the brink of beginning a long awaited, 24 day adventure in Mexico City and Oaxaca. We had Spanish classes scheduled for the mornings and in the afternoons we would explore the rich culture and interact the warm and friendly people of Mexico … and …
In the eight grade, my mother allowed me to read Travels With Charley: In Search of America, by John Steinbeck. She had some reservations about it, so she read it first. Ultimately, she felt it was a book all Americans should read, including me, her then 13 year old daughter. Always a voracious reader, Travels with Charley had been on …
I’ve always been a reader. It’s just what we did in my house. A love of books was instilled in us at a very young age. One of my single working mother’s biggest parenting successes was our weekly trips to the library. For as long as I can remember, during the glory days of our childhood, she would take us …
Dear Tracey, My granddaughter moved here five years ago to go to college. She graduated and got herself a job. I don’t think it pays all that much but she is supporting herself and paying off her student loans. I know that says something about her character. She was happy to finally move into her own apartment a month ago. …
Dear Tracey, I know it’s usually my younger generation that gets accused of being addicted to our electronic devices but in my family it’s my dad who has the biggest problem with them. That’s okay, I don’t have to live with him, except now he wants to give our son a smart-phone for his tenth birthday. My husband and I …
I’ve always been a believer in the value of doing things that were interesting, maybe even amazing, and usually quite fun. Even if the particular activity made my palms sweat and my knees knock, the end result typically included great feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction. Sure, I’ve had to adapt this approach with my advancing years but so far, age …
Dear Tracey, I have a terrible situation. My mother is 84 and housebound. A woman comes in three times a week for basic care. I do everything else. (I’m divorced and retired, living on a fixed income.) She gets Social Security and a small pension. We’ve been living like this for the last ten years. The problem? My mother has run through all of her savings. She’s been doing her …