My sister Jodi returned here to south Florida on Saturday, September 22. She was going to stay with my mom, and I was planning to return home for a bit before coming back here to take another turn hanging out with my mom. Within a short time after Jodi came into the house, my mom lapsed into a final coma, and died at 2:10 p.m. (Here’s the link to her obit.) Those last hours were remarkable. After the reality of... Read more

I’ve had a front-row seat over the last three and a half weeks as I’ve watched my mom decline toward her death. Though she was very intentional about not seeking treatment for her cancer, now that she’s facing death, she dances toward the grave and then, in a panic, tries to pull back from its gravity. Between some God-appointed, Spirit-anointed hospice nurses and myself, I am more confident now than I was 3-1/2 weeks ago that my mom is hearing... Read more

First, the update: My mom continues to fade – she’s now asking for pain and anxiety meds round the clock – a big change from a week ago. She has only short periods of relative alertness, and her waking/sleeping are nearly indistinguishable to the naked eye. She’s eaten or drunk very little the last few days, and her breathing is painful to hear and watch. She sleeps in fits and starts, mostly in an upright position, and needs someone with... Read more

Writing from a Starbucks in Tamarac, FL: We learned last week that my mom knew she had breast cancer for at least 2 years, and hid it from everyone in her life: she continued to work at a doctor’s office and volunteer at the hospital, and never sought treatment for herself, even as she watched it grow and spread. It has metasisized into her bones and lungs. She’s on oxygen, and signed herself up for hospice care 4 days ago.... Read more

I got a phone call 11 years ago to tell me that my dad had just been diagnosed with leukemia. I remember thinking that I’d just been put onto a roller coaster I didn’t actually want to ride. And I couldn’t get off. Not until after the funeral. I just learned that my mom has cancer. She’s been “ignoring” the symptoms, until they got so severe yesterday that she wound up in the ER. She’s on oxygen, and they’re doing... Read more

I wasn’t paying attention to some big things God was doing in my life 30 years ago, but I had an opportunity to do a little bit of time travel yesterday. Birthday boy Bill and I went to see “Love’s Labour’s Lost” in Bloomington at the Illinois Shakespere Festival. (2-1/2 hours from Chicago, this is far more than Shakespere in a corn field. Great, professional performances across the board in a beautiful setting.) I’d had an opportunity this past winter... Read more

I had lunch on Friday with my friend Pam. We’ve been friends since 8th grade, and together came to faith in Christ just as the Jesus Movement wave crested and began to recede. Our oldest children were born just a week apart. Our now-antique cats, Mike and Phyllis, came from a couple of litters of kittens born at Pam’s house. Pam has been an educator for all of her adult life, and I’ve always admired the sandpaper way she would... Read more