Upon occasion, when a string of life sucks circumstances has happened one after another to me and/or my loved ones, I’ve referred to that period of time as a “Job Season.” I think most people would agree: This entire year (2020) has been a “Job Season.” Just when we think things might be looking up, […]
5 (Hard) Questions You Need to Ask Your Elderly Parents Soon (if not now)
Here’s what you need to know about your elderly parents and finances. Since we all have aging parents, there’s lots we need to know in order to help them “grow old gracefully.” Today I’m going to concentrate on one area of this topic: elderly parents and finances. Watching your mother and father age can be […]
A Father and Child Reunion (An essay on a father. And forgiveness.)
By Jennifer Norstrom Silbert Exactly one year ago tonight, my brothers, their wives, and I were standing vigil over my dad’s hospice bed at my parents’ home in Wisconsin. We expected, but didn’t know for sure, that Dad wouldn’t make it through the night. His cancer had roared back into his life just three weeks […]
10 Tips for Living a Whole-Hearted Life (As taught by Brene Brown when she was my co-pilot)
At the end of last year as I drove over the river and through the woods to visit my grown daughter, Brene Brown taught me how to live a whole-hearted life. Because my friend Karen Haring—founder and executive director of Libera, Inc.—recommended more than once that I listen to Brown’s 6-cd audio recording of her […]
Death 101: The Art of Dying (as taught by Atul Gawande…and my mother)
I’ve come a long way, baby. From being the scarediest of cats about so many things. High bridges, for instance. And death. For the longest time, my parents sheltered my brothers and me from post-mortem matters. It wasn’t until the eighth grade that I attended a funeral, my paternal grandfather’s. In the back of the […]
