Literature Review

In every relationship there is one person who stacks the dishwasher like a Scandinavian architect, and one who stacks it like a racoon on crystal meth. ~Unknown

What I've what I've seen is, you know, sometimes you have friendly rivalries in the hospice and palliative care world. That's gone. We're all family right now and that--I just whew--that moves me to tears. That's the type of stuff that's like, you know what? Ok, that gives me hope that we are going to get beyond this. ~ Chris Comeaux, 10/2/24, near Asheville, NC, describing his hospice leadership experiences in the midst of Hurricane Helene's aftermath

October is a beautiful reminder that change can be stunning and wonderful.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and Third, by experience, which is the bitterest. ~Confucius

The crisp air of September is a reminder to embrace change like the trees embrace new colors. 

Wednesday is like a speed bump in the middle of the workweek – slow down, take a breath, and then accelerate into the weekend. ~ Unknown

In the same way that trees shed their leaves to make room for new growth, autumn at work is a time to reassess our strategies, let go of what no longer serves our objectives, and prepare the ground for innovative ideas to take root. - Unknown  Editor's note: Welcome Autumn 2024!

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I hope I’ll see in my lifetime a growing realization that we are one world. And that no one is going to have quality of life unless we support everyone’s quality of life. ~ Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was. ~Dag Hammarskjold

Happy Friday the 13th! With enough coffee, even this day looks good. ~ Unknown

If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate. ~ Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason DahlEditor's note: Read this again, especially in today's context. And, I thank our 2001 hospice organizations for the immeasurable ways they supported communities through this uncharted public tragedy, grief, and fear that affected us all. Of note, Hospice of Lancaster County (now Hospice & Community Care, Lancaster, PA) supported the families and community of the Shanksville Flight 93 crash through their bereavement leader Patti Holman- Anewalt, PhD.  She served as the founder and former director of their Pathways Center for Grief and Loss, and Bereavment section leader for NHPCO's Bereavement Professionals. From her trauma/grief expertise, Dr. Holman-Anewalt was also a disaster mental health specialist with the American Red Cross. Patti spent 2 weeks as an expert first responder in Shanksville supporting families at the crash site, with them at the morgue for body identification, and much more through that first year and those early annual remembrances. To my hospice colleague Patti, and to countless others, "Thank you!" To the heroes of Flight 93 and other 911 site, we offer a deeply reflective, profound "Thank you."