gratitude

Life in a Place of Death

by Bill Brenner November 5, 2012 Gratitude

As regular readers know by now, I’ve been taking a class on how to keep my attention on the present. Saturday was an all-morning session that included a silent, hour-long walk through Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, Mass. A lot of us tend to see cemeteries as a place of death. But I found a lot of life there, instead. Mood music: [spotify:track:4s4S5JJGfqXGlNY6eQZWQB] This wasn’t a new experience for me. There are three cemeteries within…  [Read More]

Happy Depression

by Bill Brenner October 11, 2012 Depression

I’ve been in a mental space lately that some would consider strange. I’m somewhat depressed but also fairly content and happy. To most people, feeling all those things at once doesn’t make sense. You’re either happy or depressed. But I’ve found that it’s more complicated than that. Mood music: [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/33409634″ iframe=”true” /] I used to spend my depressive episodes curled up in a ball, feeling sorry for myself. Depression was cause for making the…  [Read More]

Welcome Back, Mrs. Silva

by Bill Brenner September 5, 2012 Children's issues

I rushed to the kids’ school this afternoon for a parent-teacher meeting and saw the most excellent sight: Eileen Silva, back in the mix, helping her fellow teachers sort through the usual chaos of afternoon dismissal. The first-grade teacher missed all last year due to illness, but she’s back, and it’s like she never left. Mood music: [spotify:track:0ZGLuduCPjgWY1n85ykgMe] We Brenners love Mrs. Silva for many of the same reasons other parents and students do: She’s a…  [Read More]

Most Days Are Like New England Weather

by Bill Brenner September 4, 2012 Gratitude

Last Friday started in a brutal fashion. I woke up more than an hour late after a lousy night’s sleep. As a result, I fell way behind with work. To top it all off, the kids had the day off and were making all kinds of noise. Mood music: [spotify:track:5H19HygtEjZJLdGtGdpSPR] For the first two hours of the day, my mood was bleak. My head pounded, I felt disoriented and I was convinced my day was…  [Read More]

Older But More Alive

by Bill Brenner August 24, 2012 Gratitude

Sunday is my 42nd birthday, which happens near a bunch of other birthdays in the family and at work. Inevitably, when discussing this, someone admits they’re depressed about being a year older. Mood music: [spotify:track:2qZu6ByfZFFb56CwZRfwTo] I have a different outlook, which is that when you reach another year without having dropped dead, that’s cause to celebrate. When I was sick with the Crohn’s Disease as a kid, I lost a lot of blood and developed several side…  [Read More]

Two Years Later, Remembering Joe Zippo

by Bill Brenner August 10, 2012 Gratitude

Hard to believe, but it’s been two years since the death of Joe “Zippo” Kelley. I’ve been listening to Zippo Raid’s Punk Is In Season disc a lot lately and I smile every time. I’ve made some wonderful friends these last two years and Joe is our common link. Sometimes it seems strange to me, because at the time of his death I hadn’t talked to Joe in years. Mood music: I’ve gotten to know his…  [Read More]

Nine Things to Consider When Life Starts to Suck

by Bill Brenner July 19, 2012 Depression

On my worst days, when depression takes over and common sense goes out the window, I try to remember the following to put my life back into perspective. I’ve had my share of bad health, but family and friends have always helped me through. Some friends and family dealing with cancer right now know what I’m talking about. I hate the snow, cold and darkness of winter. But winter always gives way to spring and…  [Read More]

Family Reading Time

by Bill Brenner July 11, 2012 Gratitude

In our house, a cool nightly ritual has taken hold. We all gather on my bed and read until the kids reach their bedtime and the grown-ups (me specifically) pass out. Mood music: [spotify:track:27xIf7tzHPQFX068pFYlAh] Here’s what I love about it: We’re all together in one cozy spot. The kids have their faces buried in books, which always makes me a proud papa. After the typically chaotic days we live, with two demanding jobs and kids…  [Read More]

The Freak in the Newsroom

by Bill Brenner December 13, 2009 The stormy past

A tale of terror in newsrooms across the state of Massachusetts. I love my job. I love the subject matter (IT and physical security, emergency preparedness, regulatory compliance). I love the people I work with, many of whom I’ve worked with at other points in my nearly 19 years in journalism. And I love my daily dealings with some of the smartest, passionate security professionals on the planet. But it wasn’t always this way. Work used…  [Read More]

Next Entries →