Irene, left, and Lori celebrate Christmas c. 1973 or 1974.
On Saturday, while I was making myself a chicken chimichanga, my nephew texted to let me know my sister had passed away.
At the beginning of each week, I make a list of goals. Sometimes, they are small. Most of January was scrapped because I couldn’t sleep. Waking up from flashbacks is horrifying enough, but at least I know what they are now and can process a little and try to get some more rest. The constant headache from no sleep is aggravating. Not being able to concentrate due to sleep deprivation is, well, tiresome.
I thought I’d change things up for this month. There is a lot of talk about how YouTube is full of garbage and not worth watching. While this can be true, there are still a lot of really cool, educational videos I watch in a way to educate myself on a variety of topics. Here is a selection of some of my favorites, all of which are less than 30 minutes in length. If the videos don’t show, their titles are also a link to where you can find it on YouTube.
Poverty-related trauma isn’t nice or fun or quirky. When people think being poor is just a quirky thing you do, it creates a narrative where you are poor because of your own personal failures and not because of circumstances out of your control.
Me, age 23, in my CSO uniform, standing in front of the best car I ever had – a 1989 Toyota Corolla SR5 coupe with pop-up headlights.
About a month after receiving my bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, I accepted a position with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Department (UNLPD) as a Community Service Officer (CSO). The intention was to take advantage of the $3 a credit hour – max six hours per semester – the university offered to employees and get a master’s degree in Anthropology.
Here are a few good things to watch, especially on those cold, winter days when you don’t want to leave the house.
My grandparents’ grave. My mother’s ashes are buried beneath the wreath my great-nephew, Wyatt, picked out. We must wait for Spring to add her headstone.
Every year, at the end of November, I begin to think about how I’d like my next year to look while reflecting on where I’ve been and the progress I’ve made. This year, 2025 threw me a few major curveballs.
The collection of books I hope to read in the next year.