Author: raechelle.downing@gmail.com

Let’s see…where did we leave off? Ah! Texas. Right. I spent two nights with John and Habe, mom’s old boss and her best friend. There were manis and pedis, sushi and general relaxing. Then onward to Carol’s, right down the road, another work friend of mom’s, where there was more general relaxing and catching up….

Come with me on a trip. A trip that will test your will, your patience, and your belief in a God. A trip that, once told to grandchildren, will sound like a dark, magical tale of planes, tornadoes and cheap hotels. A cautionary tale, if you will. We begin in Baltimore, Maryland. March 16, 2026….

It has been a week. I scattered mom and dad’s ashes in Nestorville, WV. A little in the cemetery, a little along the creek that ran past our house. Was I sad? Yes. But taking care of mom in her final days gave me closure pretty quickly. I saw her deteriorate. I saw how much…

I arrived at Pittsburgh at 11pm last night, after a three hour delay in Chicago due to massive thunderstorms. I’m disappointed I did not get to see these thunderstorms. Surprisingly, I wasn’t concerned at all about the delay – I made friends at the wine bar. Cause that’s what I do. But that put me…

Since I turned 50 last year, and lost my mom and four other family members, in addition to losing friends who have moved out of the country, I’ve been focusing on my mental health. When trying to think of a clever name for this here blog, I kept coming back to 50, midlife, meltdowns, mental…

I miss writing. I blogged for so many years, and enjoyed making myself and my readers chuckle, but when Facebook came along, it seemed that blogging became too…formal. FB let me be “instant”. Hey! Look at what my cat is doing! It didn’t take a lot of time, or editing, or thought. And like every…