Our year ended with another empty-nester first: a road trip without our kids. We traveled to the Pennsylvania-Maryland border to visit family. This time we brought Bailey Dog along — a new experience for her as well. The most notable difference in swapping out our children for a canine was ...

If we make it through December Everything’s gonna be alright, I know It’s the coldest time of winter And I shiver when I see the falling snow — Merle Haggard “If We Make It Through December” by Merle Haggard has all the elements of a classic country song: a melancholy ...

The reality of my retirement is that I am either incredibly productive or accomplish nothing. This week was no different. On my manic cleaning day, I unburied a letter that had been sitting on a side table for weeks. I remember it arriving in the mail, but I tossed it off to the side. Opening ...

Our son Quin came home for a visit last week. We hadn’t seen him in a while, but everything began in a familiar rhythm. After being greeted at the door, Quin stood in the dining room making small talk about the drive, until abruptly he moved toward the kitchen. I smiled as I thought, ...

Halloween was an emotional eternity ago, although, in reality, it’s only been days. We had our five trick-or-treaters. The deer actually left our pumpkins alone. And we consumed the four bags of Halloween candy I bought “just in case.” All in all, this year was much like last year. It ...

One of our dogs crossed the rainbow bridge this week. Sophie, our little Chiweenie, has been slowly failing for a while, so it wasn’t unexpected. That doesn’t mean that it was easy. By accident or design, I have become Mother Reaper; the person in our family who oversees our dogs’ final ...