Caregiving at its best immerses us in unconditional love. We emerge from those experiences deeper human beings. But I know how easy it becomes to bob back up to surface-level living/loving. I keep writing to keep myself from losing my anchor.
Author Archives: Anna Bach LIechty
In Dis Life
Though I never expect to experience space travel, I understand – in general – the concept of reentry. I comprehend that the resistance of the atmosphere and the strength of the earth’s gravitational pull make coming back from orbit a tricky maneuver. I have, however, experienced the “other worldliness” of the life of a caregiver,Continue reading “In Dis Life”
Memorials Worth Remembering
I once drove into a cemetery to attend a funeral and was greeted by a lopsided, handmade sign with scrawled words in black paint: NO ARTIFICAL FLOWERS! Sounding out the misspelling in my mind – “arti-fickle” – brought the giggles during what was supposed to be a solemn memorializing of someone’s life. I admit it.Continue reading “Memorials Worth Remembering”
What are you waiting for?
June 3,, 1966 – almost 50 years since I graduated from high school. Next year I’ll have to decide whether I go to a reunion, assuming someone still living in the area will make the plans for that celebration to occur. But this year I can just wax nostalgic. No pressure. Unlike 50 years agoContinue reading “What are you waiting for?”
That’s Enough
As a new widow, one of the challenges I’ve identified already is recognizing what is enough. For example, how many pictures do I leave up before mementoes turn into shrines? Or as our son said when I asked what of his dad’s keepsakes he’d like to take, “how much of someone else’s life can youContinue reading “That’s Enough”
Holy Saturday
Everything is made more meaningful in this world by pause. Think of it. Mark Twain wrote a whole essay about the importance of the pause in story telling. And then he practiced it in his writing. We use the phrase “great comic timing” to praise a comedian who puts in an effective pause at justContinue reading “Holy Saturday”
Now what?
I’ve neglected this blog while the demands of caregiving have consumed all of my powers. Well, I did keep up the Caring Bridge journal for those folks who followed the course of our lives over the 15 and 1/2 months of Ron’s struggle after his stroke.(Search for Ronald Liechty at http://www.caringbridge.com if you are curious.)Continue reading “Now what?”
Things Happen
One year ago today this journey began. How different our lives are now. Ron has come so far despite the severity of his stroke, and yet his gains lag behind our hopes. We feel this weight of grief for what’s been lost from both our lives. Perhaps we always will. But we soldier on. WhatContinue reading “Things Happen”
Obstacle or path?
Recently, I read the Zen saying, “the obstacle is the path.” I have been tumbling this wisdom in my brain box trying to polish the ideas these words inspire. Like two pieces of flint, the words “obstacle” and “path” strike sparks for me. Let me see if breathing my thoughts across the saying produces anyContinue reading “Obstacle or path?”
What Blessings?
According to a Roman Catholic tradition the day I am writing this, September 8, is Mary’s birthday. THE Mary – Mother of Jesus Mary. Of course, the date is no more certain than the date of her firstborn’s birth, but tradition has set the markers and so we keep them as touch points for remembering.Continue reading “What Blessings?”
In it for the Long Run 