Living & Dying: A Hospice Blog

I have been watching the Harry Potter movies again. This is mostly because the internet has not been working at my house for the last week and a half (don’t get me started on the frustration of wrangling with the service provider) and the only...

From Jennie Reichman What were you doing last year at this time? Working from home? Picking your groceries up curbside? Struggling with securing unemployment benefits? Learning to bake with sourdough? It was such a mixed bag of experiences and emotions, ranging from fear to grief to...

Dear Alice, Hi! With the help of Taking Steps Brattleboro, I filled out a short form VT advance directive (AD) and registered it with the VT Advance Directive Registry several years ago. As promised, I get periodic letters from the Registry reminding me to think about...

[caption id="attachment_6599" align="alignright" width="234"] Aldo[/caption] From Jennie Reichman I had every intention to write about bathing suits this month. It's June, temperatures have been balmy, and Vermont’s lakes, ponds and rivers beckon with cool relief. Bathing suits are still on the docket, but I want to spend...

Dear Alice, I am in a quandary about completing my Advance Directive. I received a copy of the Vermont Advance Directive form in November 2019 from Taking Steps Brattleboro’s tabling in the Richards Lobby at BMH. I have looked at the form several times since then,...

By Patty Dunn, Hospice Program Coordinator This week my heart broke when I learned that my hospice “alma mater” was closing its doors. After 37 years of serving the Addison County community, our sister volunteer hospice in Middlebury, which was modeled after Brattleboro Area Hospice, will...

Dear Alice, I’m hoping you can assist me with concerns that have been troubling me since my Mom recently asked me if I would be her “Agent” on her Advance Directive. I am concerned because I have a family with very strong opinions about matters of...

by Jennie Reichman Well, we survived the cruel month of April with its teasing lure of 70 degree days followed by an epic mud season followed by punishing snow and cold. Time to welcome the darling buds of May and the astonishing return of leaves to...

by Lars Hunter Bereavement Program Coordinator I believe if there is any time of year that resembles grief it’s the months of March and April. They are months of change, new light, bird song, and the days that can also bring us back into the throes of...

[caption id="attachment_6533" align="alignright" width="300"] Vintage pillow at the shop[/caption] by Jennie Reichman I recently had something stolen from my home. I won’t go into great detail here, but it was something I use every day, that I enjoy, and that was worth about $50. I have an...