believe in santa
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Why I Still Want My Kids to Believe in Santa Claus

For years, my husband and I wrestled with our presentation of Santa Claus to our young daughters. We watched well-meaning Christian friends decide to forgo the tradition altogether. We hesitated to follow suit because we cherish our childhood memories of St. Nick but we are careful not to use Santa to control our children’s behavior….

death of a loved one
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The Expected Death of a Loved One Still Hurts Terribly

The expected death of a loved one still hurts terribly. My mother lived with early onset Alzheimer’s disease for over a decade. She lived in a nursing home with advanced dementia for almost five years. And she lived on hospice care for two years. I prepared for her death for years. I was relieved, of…

marriage before alzheimer's mom wedding
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How I’m Remembering My Parents’ Imperfect Marriage Before Alzheimer’s Now

Today would’ve been my parents’ 45th wedding anniversary. It is difficult to write about my parents’ marriage before Alzheimer’s when my mother has been dead for 9 years and my father has remarried twice since then. My parents had an Aggie romance. They met at Texas A&M through a mutual friend. Their first date was…