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by Penfield Chester, Hospice Volunteer “Eighty-eight is such a nice round number,” my mother said cheerfully. She traced the number, her finger hovering over what my sister had written in purple on the birthday cake. The most important beings in her life — her daughters and...
Dear Alice, I heard someone talking recently about a “green burial,” and was definitely intrigued. I always thought I wanted to be cremated, but now I hear cremation is bad for the environment. Can you tell me a little about green burials, and who I can...
We answer your questions about Advance Care Planning Dear Alice, Hi! In last month’s column, you mentioned something called a COLST, and enticingly said you would address it in a later issue. I don’t mean to be demanding, but can you do that sooner as opposed to...
by Penfield Chester, Hospice Volunteer I groaned inwardly when I first heard we were to have a zoom service for a beloved relative. Then my reasonable side caught up with me to help approach the date without very high expectations for yet another zoom meeting....
The Gift to Be Simple By Cliff L. Wood “Tis the gift to be simple Tis the gift to be free Tis the gift to come down Where we ought to be” This old Shaker hymn is one that I have sung over the years at Episcopal churches. I love the...
by Jennie Reichman Looking back over the articles I have written for this newsletter, I've noticed how I tend to track time by the seasons and what is going on in the natural world. January: It’s snowing. Again. March: Snowing, but the light is shifting toward...
We answer your questions about Advance Care Planning Dear Alice, When folks talk about advance care planning, they often use different terms that seem to be the same thing. What is the difference between an Advance Directive, a Living Will, and an Appointment of Health Care Agent...
by Patty Dunn, Hospice Program Coordinator “I have been haunted by the worry that many people underestimate and misunderstand the value of simple human attention. I mean the kind of attention where the rest of the world around you melts away and it’s just you and...
by Jennie Reichman [caption id="attachment_6372" align="alignright" width="300"] Sage advice from a sign for sale at the Shop[/caption] Some things are counterintuitive. “Why am I doing this?” you think as you move away from home to a new location, leave a relationship that is serviceable but unfulfilling, invest...
BY CHRIS MAYS Brattleboro Reformer Monday, October 5, 2020 BRATTLEBORO Muriel Wolf dedicated most of her 25 years with Brattleboro Area Hospice to bereavement counseling. "Then I decided to both broaden and deepen the work I wanted to do," the hospice's spiritual companion said. The spiritual care program began...