Valerie Schultz
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Cycle of life hits home on a weekend with Dad
As I perch on a chair in a little cubby in the emergency room at Providence Holy Cross Hospital, I confront a few of the reasons why I did not choose a career in health care. I am squeamish about medical procedures and the breakdown of the human body.
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Unpacking heat: Mom's decision to turn in guns yields peace of mind
It was a hot Saturday morning in Los Angeles, the day before Mother's Day, and I was sweating as I drove my mother to her rendezvous. In my trunk were three guns and some ammo from my dad's closet. My dad was in failing health and my mother didn't want him to get any ideas about ending it all with a bullet. She had read in the newspaper about the Los Angeles Police Department's anonymous, no-questions-asked, gun buyback program that was to take place at a church near her home. As an incentive, the police were offering $100 Ralph's or VISA gift cards in exchange for each gun. She had made careful note of the date. She just needed me to drive her.
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Valerie Schultz: It's doom and groom time for household pets
Ah, late spring ... the glorious weather warms our faces and our souls. The tulips and lilacs have come and gone. The lawn is green, the air is delicately scented, and daylight lingers longer and longer. It would be a perfect time, if not for that dreaded springtime ritual, the shedding of the pets.
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Planning for the end saves much grief
Recent events in my family have forced me to think about those end-of-life choices that I prefer to relegate to the far-off future. My father was hospitalized with end-stage heart disease, and at one point had been placed on a ventilator and a feeding tube, both of which I believed would have been against his wishes had he been able to decide. He has since recovered sufficiently to breathe on his own, and his heart valiantly struggles to continue beating against tough odds. He is currently, and rather miraculously, in a rehabilitative center, with the goal of getting strong enough to come home.
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Family emergency brings deeper reunion
The last weekend of April was one that my husband and I had looked forward to for months. Our theater professors from the college where we met and earned our degrees were retiring at the end of the school year, and their students through the decades and from all over the country were planning to come together in Dallas, to celebrate this remarkable and beloved couple who had formed our education and influenced our adulthood. My husband and I requested days off and plotted a whirlwind itinerary for our trip. We were going to visit many friends, some of whom we hadn't seen in 25 years, the kind of low-maintenance friends whom you can neglect forever and still be comfortable and close to when you see them.
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Valerie Schultz: Taxes aren't bad, as long as they're fair
Tax time reminds me of a funny story that my dad tells about the time the IRS, back in the last century, summoned him for an audit of his tax return. He threw every receipt and check stub he could find into a box, an unorganized flurry that he brought to his appointment. He also brought my brother and me, preschoolers at the time. With an affable smile, he dumped the mess of papers onto the desk. Then my dad subtly encouraged his little monster kids to do pretty much whatever we wanted around the office. The audit ended quickly, amid ribbons of ejected adding machine tape: the IRS agent couldn't wait to get us out of her office. She later phoned to say that his case had been closed without penalty.
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Valerie Schultz: On Easter — 'Our father, forgive us ... as we forgive'
We celebrate Easter this Sunday, a time of joy and glory, first, that salvation is possible, and second, that Lent is over and we can dive into all those jellybeans and chocolate eggs. For followers of Christ, Easter is the high point of the liturgical calendar. We commemorate Jesus' resurrection, at the same time that we breathe deeply of the seasonal new life that comes with spring. We are also grateful that, through Christ's sacrifice, we are a forgiven people.
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Valerie Schultz: On Easter -- 'Our Father, forgive us...as we forgive'
"He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love."
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Valerie Schultz: Mountain spring elusive
Crawling back into bed and pulling the covers over one's head is not a normal response to the first few days of spring. Yet, here in the mountains, that is exactly what we feel like doing. Although the calendar says spring, winter won't seem to leave, hanging around like an unwelcome guest long after the sparkle and glamour of the Christmas holidays have packed themselves away. Our version of early spring is more conducive to hibernation than handsprings. Our wildflowers have yet to push their way through the frozen earth. Our spring is still a memory and a distant dream.
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Valerie Schultz: Dude, where’s my tiara could be slogan of the boy pageant
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Valerie Schultz: Another birthday, another occasion to reflect on what it all means
Indulge me, since today is my birthday, as I quote from myself. One year ago today, I wrote the following entry for the Catholic weekly magazine America, as a contributor to the blog, “In All Things”:
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Birthdays: Nephew turns 1, I turn ... ahem ...
Day perfect for looking back, ahead
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Valerie Schultz: I'm all ears, but age is a powerful sound barrier
My grandmother, God rest her, was hard-of-hearing, which is the adjective we use when we want to convey politely that someone can’t hear a blessed thing.
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Valerie Schultz: Michael Phelps screwed up, but why do we expect perfection from heroes?
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Valerie Schultz: Darwin's science works to prove existence of God, not refute it
In a cosmic coincidence, Feb. 12, 2009, marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin as well as that of Abraham Lincoln: the father of evolutionary theory and the father of evolutionary humanity shared a birthday. Darwin pioneered the study of biological evolution, while Lincoln encouraged his fellow Americans to heed the “better angels” of their nature, in a plea for the cultural evolution that came of the Civil War. We celebrate this year two giants of history.
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Valerie Schultz: 'Trickle-down' recession? More like a waterfall
An admission upfront: My grade in economics class was the lowest one I received in four years of college. My professor was less than patient with my need for repeated explanation, because, as is often the case with people who are naturally gifted at something, it all just seemed so obvious to him. But my brain does not travel along the logical lines of economic theory, as a close look at my household budget would confirm.
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Valerie Schultz: Us vs. Them is kind of the way of the world — but does it have to be?
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Valerie Schultz: Childbirth is not a disease or scheduling conflict, so stop the C-sections
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Valerie Schultz: Fascination with the sea stirs deep wonder
“How much do I love you?
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Valerie Schultz: Are you there, Mr. Obama? It's me, Valerie
Dear Mr. Obama,
