January 27, 2016

A grand adventure... minus one

January 27, 2016/ Lisa Carpenter

My Grand Adventure at Disney World with my middle daughter and grandsons kicks off tomorrow!

Minus one of my grandsons.

Jak is staying behind.

After seriously considering the...

November 05, 2015

National Family Caregivers Month and 'Doing The Right Thing'

November 05, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

November is Family Caregivers Month, which recognizes the challenging work of the more than 65 million people—29 percent of the U.S. population—who provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend (according to National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP). More importantly, the campaign stresses the need for those around the caregiver to offer support... and breaks from the job, when possible.

I am not a caregiver. I'm fortunate in that my own mother fares well on her own at this point and doesn't require care. My mother-in-law does, though. Professionals in the nursing home where she resides provide her primary care. Jim's sister Sue, who lives near the home, tirelessly offers Mom the nearly daily love, care, and attention only a family member can provide—despite Sue having a full-time job and busy life of her own, needs of her own.

family caregiver

Sue is, without doubt, the hero of...

October 19, 2015

Musing elsewhere: Thoughts on my daughter's miscarriage (PurpleClover.com)

October 19, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

Thoughts on my daughter's miscarriage

Published October 18, 2015 on PurpleClover.com

My daughter lost her baby last week. A miscarriage in the first trimester.

Coming from an abundantly fertile family, it's hard to wrap my head around that. My mom had seven children. Three of my sisters had several children, and a number of those kids had kids. I had three children myself, and my middle child had three children, too.

All of us had no problem. Yet it's a problem for my oldest child, Brianna.

"Problem" doesn't come close to accurately describing the fertility challenge for my daughter. A dead baby is far more than a problem. It's a painful, traumatic, inexplicable loss.

My 33-year-old daughter, who learned just this past year that her chances for conceiving and delivering a child are sadly...

Click to continue reading on PurpleClover.com...

October 15, 2015

Here and now: October 15, 2015

October 15, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

clock and book

On my mind...

The extreme ups and downs of life. Last week, I set out on an amazing adventure on the sunrise coast of Michigan. The week before, my oldest daughter...

October 14, 2015

Fearless at 50: AARP spotlights feisty female skateboarders over fifty

October 14, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

skateboard moms

The older I get, the more I consciously strive to engage in experiences that scare me a bit. Just this past weekend, in fact, I climbed to the very top of five lighthouses in Michigan in the face of fears my MS would keep me from going all the way to the light—and back down again—without fumbling, stumbling and falling flat on my face or fanny.

Also over the weekend, I took an aerial flight in an itsy...

September 28, 2015

A Brave Heart, plus GRAND Social No. 174 link party for grandparents

September 28, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

A Brave Heart

A Brave Heart film

My husband and I watched an incredible documentary yesterday called A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY, courtesy a free, no-obligation screener from the filmmakers. It's the amazing, heartbreaking, inspiring...

August 20, 2015

Here and now: August 20, 2015

August 20, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

In my world...

clock and book

On my mind...

On NBC News Tuesday night, there was a report of an unscrupulous doctor who had been egregiously knowingly misdiagnosing patients with MS. Such a horrible thing to do. I have MS. BUT, though his actions are unconscionable, that's not what most stuck with me after viewing the report. What did stick with me was a comment from one of the women incorrectly diagnosed. She stated that...

June 09, 2015

On swings, rainbows, and indigo endings

June 09, 2015/ Lisa Carpenter

On the upper level of my home, we have a three-season porch. It's fashioned after the porches popular in Colorado Springs in the late 1800s, peaceful spots where tuberculosis patients rested on beds while soaking up the fresh, restorative mountain air.

Ours is a three-season porch, with no insulation protecting the space from cold. Meaning, we don't access the room in the winter. Come spring, though, the porch door is opened—and our indoor swing firmly attached in the doorway.

indoor swing on three-season porch