Category Archives: Blog

Missing Thereness

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Lin Ennis

As I drifted to sleep last night, a voice brought me back to this plane. “I miss my mom!” Ellen cried out her pent-up loss. “I know, Sweetie. I know.” I patted her and handed her a couple tissues, dutifully … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged aging, death and dying, losing a family member, love, when mom dies | 4 Comments

Awaiting Profundity

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Lin Ennis

I’ve delayed posting, hoping to find a neat, poetic way to tie up the major events of this last year. It’s been about letting people die, helping people die, and honoring people who die. In April, my mother died. I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged aging, cycle of life, deathbed, dementia, dying, independent living, new lease on life, profundity | 641 Comments

Smart Superstition

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Lin Ennis

I celebrate Friday the 13th as a lucky day. It is for me, because I declare it so, and live my day looking for serendipities. I walk under a ladder on purpose, practically daring a black cat to cross my … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged cleaning house, decluttering, joy to my life, neat office, office shelves, orderliness, orderly, organizing, supersitions | 419 Comments

Willing to Change Your Mind About Islam?

Posted on December 27, 2009 by Lin Ennis

How often do you think of major changes in your beliefs over the past course of your life? It could be science or money or an ism…Take religion, for example. I started out being driven to church by a neighbor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged ayaan hirsi ali, changing beliefs, dutch parliament, magan, refugee status | 58 Comments

Happy Birthday Mother

Posted on November 26, 2009 by Lin Ennis

It hasn’t been a year since you moved on, but the annual celebration of you and who you were has come and gone. I thought about you the entire week of your birthday. I was too busy to blog you … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged choosing when to die, death, drug overdose, raising kids, suicide attempt, weddings and funerals | 1,047 Comments

Feckless

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Lin Ennis

Songs get stuck in our heads…possibly worse yet, a single phrase or two of a song. (I’m forcing myself to resist giving examples we can all relate to, such as a song from Disneyland that is so poignant, it’s nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged close associates, insistence, last thursday, multiculturalism, mysterious word, shaman | 626 Comments

The Parental “Conversation”

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Lin Ennis

This seems to be the year for parent-issues. Last weekend we drove to Los Angeles to celebrate a parental 70th anniversary–my in-laws’. Also on the agenda was discussing with them their opportunity to make a decision to move into an … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged 70th anniversary party, aging parents, assisted living, baby boomers, independent living | 1 Comment

A New Wrinkle I Can Live With

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Lin Ennis

Do you notice physical changes in yourself that are associated with age like I do? For example, do you remember finding your first gray hair? Noticing when your smile first seemed enclosed in parentheses? I always thought it would be … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged dimples, happiness, human brain, working out, wrinkles | 4 Comments

Chasing the Dragon

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Lin Ennis

There is (or was) a mysterious objet de’ art in our family. We call it “The Dragon.” My grandfather, an ornamental iron worker after blacksmithing no longer supported a wife and five children in the early 1900’s, made The Dragon … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged arnold george akerman, chasing the dragon, distant father, dragons, flowers, heritage, marriage and divorce, mary zula graham, nasturtiums | 9 Comments

TSA – the Most Hated Part of Freedom to Travel

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Lin Ennis

Land of the free and home of the brave feels more like land of the hassled and home of the knave if you travel anywhere in the United states by air. Meanwhile, we all have stories of confiscated bottles of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged concert pianist, confiscation, krystian zimerman, steinway grand piano, transportation security administration, tsa | 7 Comments