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October 18, 2023
“You ok?”, my husband asked. “You said you’ve felt a little…angsty…lately.” Yeah. I’m ok. And yeah, angsty is probably the right word. I’m a Gen X girl. Angst is the stamp of my life. Let’s see…we have Russia still pummeling Ukraine; Hamas killing innocent Israelis and Israel creating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We have firearm violence as the number one killer of children in the United States and a House so divided they cannot even complete a simple junior...
July 7, 2018
I’m staring down the 5lbs that have crept onto my waist and thighs this Spring. We have done a lot of traveling and celebrating…a dear friend’s destination wedding, a milestone anniversary, and our traditional family beach trip. When we got home from Italy, after eating and drinking way more than we usually do, I was convinced I’d moved the needle on the scale, but I had not. Feeling proud of myself for the feat of maintenance while traveling, I thought...
May 26, 2017
I seem to be struggling with shoes recently. From broken to poorly chosen to missing altogether, I just can’t get myself (or the kids) appropriately prepared to safely navigate the day’s activities. About a week ago, in our usual state of Hartwell Family April Spring Sports Madness, Scott took one kid to practice and I took the other to the grocery. They had been playing at the neighbor’s house, so I drove down the street to grab Ben and whisk...
December 1, 2016
The elderly woman we had been taking care of in the ICU looked younger than her stated age. But her medical history on paper was more consistent with her 79 years…the heart failure, the diabetes, the chronic lung disease. She managed to fight for three days before the exhaustion from the work of her breathing overcame her and she had to have a breathing tube placed. She spent the first night anxious and breathing rapidly. She sent her heart rate...
October 1, 2016
Scott has been out of town on business. And while I miss him terribly, we are doing fine. We really are. As far as I am aware, the kids ate every meal this week. Some on the go, some with friends, and some standing around the kitchen, but they ate. And they bathed. At least a few times. They made it to school. And practices and games. The laundry is done. The dishwasher run. I was on call twice this...
June 21, 2016
These feet were made for walking…12,234 steps on call last night, all after a painful 5 mile walk/run in the scorching heat yesterday morning. (Touché: Both Jack and Scott told me not to run at 11am.) Taking the stairs more often than not; walking the long, long underground corridor from my office building to the ED; to the OR-for a somewhat intense case; to the call room. And back to my office this morning. I didn’t mean to be so...
December 29, 2015
Let’s laugh together. Let’s feed our kids leftovers for dinner. Again. Let’s be easy on ourselves. Yet take really, REALLY good care of ourselves. Let’s burn the cookies, forget about the laundry ’til it mildews and we have to run the washer again, and let’s leave the Christmas decorations up ’til February. Let’s share our worlds, our minds, our hearts. We are not alone. Let’s admit we are anxious, imperfect, scared. I experienced numbness. Then brokenness and healing. And now a...