(1988 Note from Patrice to Mom) Please forgive me for all the times I talked fresh. (1993 Note from Patrice to Mom) I’m sorry I never show how much I love you, but I do love you a lot. Please don’t talk about this note or school anymore because it will make me grouchy. (1994…
Currently living/working: My time as the dutiful daughter in NJ will be winding down mid April as I’ll hand off the caregiver torch to my sister to take over the hospice care in her home (in CT) while I return to AK in time for our typical robust summer work schedule. Current mood: I’m trying…
I sleep in fits, thinking I hear the floor creaking from my mom walking around. I sleep in the basement, which has its own heating zone so I can drop the temperature down to 60 for prime sleeping conditions. Upstairs, the thermostat is set at 75, the carpeted floor and wood paneling contain 40 years…
There’s a trickle down byproduct of inheritance that people like to avoid thinking about: acquiring someone else’s mountain of stuff. Over the years, I’ve watched in horror as every inch of available space in my mom’s house filled up to its maximum capacity. I figured starting the monumental and daunting task of pairing down was…
Currently living/working: Justin joined me in NJ for a few weeks this month! Thank goodness for gig work and our convenient side hustle of virtual library presentations because trying to incorporate the tide of personal responsibilities and work goals into the caregiving seems impossible to me. Also, I sold at least 6 Between Each Step…
Dear Dad, Five years is both an eternity and a blink of an eye. I learned so much going through your death that I thought it would prepare me for others. I learned that proactivity is important. I’ve now realized it may not mean much in the long run. As it turns out you were…
Confession and disclaimer: If you’ve been keeping up on my blog the last month, you probably have noticed I have some heavy thoughts circulating in my mind. It’s hard not to be metacognitive when I have so much time and space while being my mom’s full-time caregiver. I intend to keep sharing, but I’m talking…
Currently living/working: I took a leave of absence from my job … Wait, who am I kidding? I’m a freelancer who makes her own schedule. For the foreseeable future, I’m an unpaid—but much appreciated—caregiver to my mom in NJ. It’s what I dubbed as my limbo life. Meanwhile, Justin is battling the dregs of winter…
You’d think my skin was as thick as Kevlar with as much rejection as I’ve endured over the years in my freelance writing career and book publishing journey. But 2023 ended up being deeply soul-sucking in the ratio of my article pitches to published articles. In an attempt to rationalize (to myself) why I have…
Yes, I am still in NJ passing time and wondering do I go back to AK or stay with my mom—who despite having a terminal prognosis seems fairly stable, but embraces her fate waking up everyday and saying, “I just didn’t think I’d be alive today.” Reality bites, but I am practicing my best forms…
Currently living/working: It’s been an eventful month, and I’m so grateful for the carefree time in Mexico, because it’s all gone downhill! Let’s see, where to start? While we were in Denver visiting Justin’s family for Christmas, Justin ended up in the hospital. Apparently, he had a bacterial infection—unrelated to Mexico, but related to one…
In case you missed the several times that I might have mentioned it: we spent 27 days in La Ventana/El Sargento, a small hamlet on the Sea of Cortez (east) side of Baja California Sur. We’ve been there twice before because our friends Clara & Shadow moved there in 2018. And since we (I) need to…
Currently living/working: We’ve done minimal work this month. We both wrapped up a few projects before jet setting to the East Coast and we’ve been in Mexico since 11/21. This is the chunk of the year when we live off our savings thanks to our seasonal work as well as the random freelance paychecks that…
As per our usual hello-goodbye tour we do at least once a year, we spent 10 days on the East Coast in mid November—specifically New Jersey & Connecticut to see my family, but Justin also made a detour to see his dad in Massachusetts on this trip. A significant portion of my family and many…
Hey U2 fans out there! Did you know there are real places reminiscent of the late 80s song, “Where the Streets Have No Name???” When Justin & I moved to Healy within Denali Borough in 2019, we didn’t give much thought to the fact that there were no house numbers and street names around the…
Currently living/working: Writing while hibernating, as per the season. But we’ve also been regularly giving weekly virtual presentations (Life in the Last Frontier: Alaska) for libraries! Current mood: I did not rush into any substantial writing projects after the seismic seasonal shift to winter, knowing I needed a minute to recover from the frenetic…
I’ve mentioned this before, but my Uncle Fred has lived in Alaska for 40+ years, so he’s been our mentor and introduction for all things Alaska. One of his favorite fall pastimes with friends is spearfishing! As with dipnetting for salmon (which we’ve personally only done once), spearfishing is not the Alaskan fishing displayed in…
We welcomed A LOT of friends/family this summer and fall, with the culmination being Justin’s mom (and her friend) specifically timed with Justin’s bday. (For the record, our friend Sarah made this sign for Justin since I am so terrible at creating bday fanfare). The selfish perk of having visitors is the excuse to check…
Currently living/working: We survived another summer of wrangling what seems like a 30-gallon bucket worth of income streams and logistics!!! From guiding to managing/cleaning investment properties to freelance writing/speaking gigs to passion projects, I love the diversity of our safety nets, but it is always admittedly exhausting. Now we’ll both make the shift to solely…
I have a penchant for exploring seldom-visited, off-the-beaten-path natural destinations, and since most of Alaska is inaccessible by roads, there’s no shortage of adventures I can dream of. Enter Spencer Glacier. I’ve had Spencer Glacier on my radar since we moved to Alaska. It sits 60 miles Southeast of Anchorage, but you have to take…