On the night I got written up for smuggling a greasy paper bag into the dementia unit, my boss said, “contraband.” I just looked at the man in the bed and thought, If this doesn’t work, Mr. Lewis is going to die hungry. Mr. Lewis hadn’t eaten real food in four days. On his chart […]
When a Sandwich in a Red Lunch Box Broke the Rules in Dementia Care Read More »
My supervisor wrote me up for bringing “contraband” into the memory care unit. She said I was breaking protocol. I told her I was just saving a man from starving to death. Mr. Frank hadn’t eaten in four days. In the medical charts, he was listed as an 82-year-old male with advanced Alzheimer’s and “combative
How a Fake Lunch from His Dead Wife Saved an Alzheimer’s Patient’s Life Read More »
My heart didn’t break when the doctors told me my husband, Frank, was gone. It didn’t break when I had to sell the house we lived in for forty years because the stairs were getting too steep. No. My heart broke on a Tuesday afternoon, staring at a blue text bubble on an iPhone screen.
Being Loved Is Not Enough: A Grandma’s Viral Christmas Wake-Up Call to Families Read More »
I kidnapped my paralyzed veteran grandpa from the nursing home on Veterans Day so he could lead one last parade, because I refused to watch him fade away under fluorescent lights clutching a folded flag on the wall. The nurses would call the police. My mom would probably cry and yell at the same time.
The Veterans Day I Broke the Rules to Give My Grandpa One Last Parade and Bring Him Home Read More »
The security camera notification on my phone is what broke my heart. I was in the kitchen, drowning in steam and stress. The turkey was taking too long, the stuffing was too dry, and my teenage son was arguing with his sister about the Wi-Fi speed. My husband was shouting at the TV because the
Answer the Door: The Day I Realized My Parents Were Waiting Outside My Life Read More »
I stopped my cart dead in the middle of Aisle 4 because I thought the man standing in front of the pasta sauce was having a stroke. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t blinking. In the middle of the Saturday morning rush—with carts rattling, kids screaming, and people frantically checking their phones—he was a statue. He
What Happened After I Helped a Shaking Old Man Choose Pasta Sauce Read More »
I fired a single mother for being twelve minutes late. It was the “right” thing to do. It was policy. It was fair to everyone else who showed up on time. And it was the single biggest mistake of my life. I’ve been a floor manager at a distribution center in Ohio for ten years.
I Fired a Homeless Single Mom Over Twelve Minutes and It Broke Me Read More »
I came home last Tuesday to find my mother sitting in the dark of my living room, a single, battered suitcase resting at her feet. My heart hammered against my ribs. My first thought was a medical emergency. My second was that she was leaving—moving to that “assisted living” facility in Florida she’d jokingly threatened
The Evening Walks With My Mother That Quietly Rewired My American Dream Read More »
For a whole year after my mom died from a virus that turned our country into one long argument, a biker in a torn leather jacket showed up at her grave every Sunday morning and I was sure he was there out of guilt. Every week at nine on the dot, while I sat in
A Biker Came To My Mom’s Grave Every Sunday And I Finally Learned The Truth Read More »
I lie to my boss every single day. I’m 72 years old. I’m a deacon at my local church, I pay my taxes, and I’ve never even gotten a speeding ticket. But for the last nine years, I’ve been running a “scam” right under the nose of the corporate management at the Second Chance Thrift
The Old Thrift Store Deacon Who Lies So Poor People Keep Their Pride Read More »
