My Mom is Dying
Honored to be with my mom today, every moment holy. It’s a gift to say goodbye in this way. This will be the 7th day in a row I am getting to sit with her and visit. Part of me hates this; the other part of me wouldn’t want to [...]
The Courageous Death: How My Friend Taught Me to Die
“Tos, passed away last night at 8 pm,” my wife texted this sentence this morning at 7:41 a.m. I had just piled my last kiddo into the car to drop him off at school. I sat there momentarily stunned, my body waiting to catch up with my clouded mind. I [...]
My Mother’s Fourth Year of Dementia
Being around Alzheimer’s/dementia feels like being around death. My mom is void of herself—a shell of a human still trying to be polite, hospitable—yet she is gone. She is no longer the woman who raised me. I have noticed this week, being around her, that I too feel gone. As [...]
Watching My Mother Die
Watching my mom die in such a gruesome way has been agonizing. You see, it’s not your typical tragic ending. It’s not like the horrific cancer that stole my sister-in-law Julie so quickly, or the unknown reason my father passed away after routine outpatient surgery, or the haunting suicide which [...]
Oh My River
Oh my River boy. You surprised us, son. 5 weeks early, narrowly escaping death, you, my son, are fearless. And what a terrifying gift you are. Your mother and I simultaneously wept and held our breath awaiting your first cry. And cry you did! It was loud, a voice of [...]
A Goodbye to My Sister
My sweet sister-in-law Julie Mcgill Bauman died today one year ago. I remember holding her hand laying by her bedside while she was on life support. When they pulled the plug I couldn’t bear watching. I had to step away and lay down, I couldn’t see her hurting. But today [...]
Gun Reform VS. Self Reform: Engaging Violence within & without
Gun Reform VS. Self-Reform Engaging Violence within & without By Andrew J. Bauman “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they [...]