For many years of my life, most years actually, Thanksgiving was Uncle Al. The flystrip over the turkey, the turkey trapped in an oven accidentally set on self-clean instead of “bake,” and while “matters” have made it so the past few Thanksgivings have been spent here in Arizona, every other…

A few of my students were the first to notice this flower during our morning walk. Some Mondays, I take a group for “PE” (laugh riot for anyone who really knows me), but Gruber PE is just strolling around downtown Tucson. And yes, I carry my coffee while I go.

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I took a personal day today because I am exhausted by and confined to the realities of my life. Today, I had to call my “favorite” pharmacy, Optum. Optum is the pharmacy where I get my Ibrance. Ibrance is the drug that, ostensibly, keeps me alive since I have metastatic breast cancer (mbc). I have no children and I have a very understanding, caring employer, and I wonder and worry about those who are in positions far different from mine, but who have the shared problem of mbc. How can we make this process easier for Americans who, like me, are living with chronic, life-threatening conditions? In this video there is comedy, drama, and horror. I try to film my calls with Optum when I can because, if nothing else, they’re story telling gold. So here is a story of my morning, in video form:

This morning, heading out of the house, I caught sight of myself in our hallway mirror — my checkered button up beneath a light grey hoodie, sleeves rolled, beads around my neck (my malas that I sometimes just tell my kids are my “fidget” because it’s easier than explaining my…