Eileen lost her husband Gerry several years ago. She recently wrote this Christmas letter to him:
Dear Angel Pop,
 I hope after two years that you have earned your wings.  I remain here on earth faithful to your memory.
Many people give me advise “get involved” “be around other people”.  I am trying very hard, this past week I went to five social gatherings.  I enjoyed them for the time they lasted.  Reminds me of  song “What’s it all about Alfie?  Is [ ... ]

    How much is an extra 4 months of  life worth to you? Do you think it’s worth $93,000? A new treatment for Prostate Cancer costs that much. 
    That question is a Home Prompt our group is wrestling with between meetings. Each member is to assume they are advisors to a recently elected Congressman. He will be voting on a bill to allow Medicare to pay for such treatments. How should he vote? 
    Letters to the editor of The Washington [ ... ]

         We were trying to write poetry that joined areas of stress with words or images that nourish us, that help ease that stress.   Here are two such poems  from our Berlin group.        
                                  ALL I WANT
All I want is to find my purpose in life
It seems that I am just marking time
Each day is endless from sunrise to sunset
Until it is time to lay my head down
I say the child’s prayer before sleep,
“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the
Lord my soul to keep, [ ... ]

Two simple words — thank you — are often the most difficult to say. When someone compliments an item of our clothing, it is rare for us to just say, “Thank you.”
Much more common is, “Oh, this old thing?” or “I got it on sale.”
We sometimes have to practice saying, “Thank you!” Period.
A friend and I have a running joke about this and when one of us does something nice for the other and the recipient starts to say, “Oh, [ ... ]