Like most pet owners, we subject our poor Baxter to many nicknames. Some are run-of-the-mill like “Puppy” or “Puppy-Schmup.” We call him “Booxie” and “Booxinator.” On days when Baxter is freshly brushed and walks with a certain swagger, I refer to him as “Lord Buxton.” This is always pronounced in an awful English accent for absurd reasons that I can’t explain. I hope you agree with me when I say it is our absolute right as pet owners to be reduced to sappy ridiculousness when it comes to our pets. No explanations required.

One of the most prevalent myths that gives me pause is the belief that receiving home care means giving up my freedom and independence. I worry that inviting a caregiver into my home will diminish my sense of autonomy and control over my own life.

Still, if you’re a Sun City Illinoisan who was looking forward to getting reacquainted with those long-awaited love-bugs, this year of the dragon has been a bit of a drag, because there hasn’t been a cicada in sight in our part of the world.

For pages that existed in 2013, 38% are not available today. Even 8% of webpages from just one year ago are no longer available.

This phenomenon is called “Digital Decay.”

One of my primary concerns is how to prepare and accommodate our elderly relatives, some of whom have specific needs or health issues. For example, my beloved aunt has been showing signs of early dementia and I want to ensure she feels comfortable and supported throughout the gathering.

OK, that might not be the best way to begin this. Let me start again.

When I went away to college, I lived in a dorm named after Rev. Niebuhr, who was a pastor, theologian, and ethicist. My father wrote me letters addressed to Niebuhr Hall, and he would tuck a copy of the prayer he had clipped from a church bulletin. On the back, he would write with his customary post script: “You may keep.”

But as the 18th Century Scottish poet Robert Burns famously wrote: “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

Well, that’s not exactly how he said it. In the words of his place and time, it was: “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!”

I know myself to be an introvert, but I’m always a little bit shocked, on these rare occasions when I’m left alone, at how much of an introvert I am. 

Quirky? Twisted? Wonky?

Nope. Let’s go with askew. I can live with askew.

We knew they were coming, but it didn’t make it any less jarring to see the tiny holes in the soil where they had suddenly emerged after their 17-year-long buffet of tender tree roots. They’re not a welcome sight for many, and cautious homeowners along neighborhood streets have carefully wrapped young saplings in white nets as a way of protecting trees in their infancy from the attack of cicadas.

For the past 25 years I have driven through this beautiful community while admiring the hundreds of trees planted along each side of the street. For the first time last week, I admired the gorgeous arches formed as a result of parkway trees, planted on opposites sides of the street, now being tall and wide enough to touch each other. This glorious sight coupled with the wonderful feeling of driving under blocks of majestic trees now mature enough to form a dense canopy was tremendously rewarding. As Del Webb’s Sun City Huntley celebrates its 25th year, the trees planted so many years ago are a testament to the residents who have nurtured them for the past two and a half decades.