Puppies, Wasps, and Every Day Heroes | by Linda Brendle

Yesterday was an eventful day in a country living kind of way. It started normally enough with breakfast followed by coffee in front of our respective laptops, checking to see what was going on in the rest of the world. Neither of us found anything particularly interesting, so David put on his work boots and hat and went out to do battle with another tree stump, and I went to the garden to pull weeds. He told me later that when he was getting his tools, he heard a low growl under the shed. I would have investigated immediately, but his focus on the task at hand was stronger than his curiosity, so I was the first to meet our visitor. As I knelt in the garden, this little furball barreled into my backside.

Freedom’s Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Write | by Linda Brendle

David and I recently took our first trip since Mom died.  On the drive home from her funeral, I looked out the window at the passing scenery and wanted to go home, pack up the RV, and head out. Along with the sadness and loss, I felt the lifting of a burden, of a years-long task finally completed, and I wanted to live out that freedom on the open road. But it wasn’t a good time and may not be for a while. Finances are tight, and we have responsibilities around Emory that we can’t drop at a moment’s notice. But short jaunts are doable, and last week we drove to Louisiana to celebrate the Fourth with David’s family.

Caregivers: Heroes with a Different Kind of Courage

I may be a country girl and a grandma, too, but I’m a pretty up-to-date lady. I even have my own Twitter account (@LindaBrendle in case you haven’t followed me yet). In the four months since I’ve been a member of the Twitterverse, I’ve met a lot of interesting people. One of my new friends is Scott Allison, Professor of Psychology at the University of Richmond, co-author of Heroes: What They Do and Why We need Them, and co-owner of a blog by the same name. When I tweeted him that caregivers are heroes, too, he was kind enough to invite me to be a guest blogger.  Read my post called Caregivers: Heroes with a Different Kind of Courage at:

http://blog.richmond.edu/heroes/2012/07/07/caregivers-are-heroes/

Blessings,

Linda