I grew up in a blue-collar family where vacations were momentous events. They didn’t happen every year, but when they did, they tended to be memorable.

There was the Yellowstone Park vacation, the Expo ’67 vacation, the Lincoln Trail vaca­tion. Our family vacations required a lot of planning and saving. While we were away, my mother would always send heaps of postcards to family and friends showing our travels in vivid color.

As kids, my brothers and I would save our allowances so we could buy sou­ve­nirs from exotic locales. I still …

I recall first encountering the word 'potpourri' as a category on the game show Jeopardy when I was a kid.  I wasn't sure what the word meant because the an­swers that came up in that category never seemed to have anything in common.

Years later, I came across jars of foul-smelling bits of dried plants that were also called potpourri.  My curiosity was roused because I had no idea how this related to what I had seen on Jeopardy. So I looked up the definition and discovered that potpourri is basically a …

This month, my column is actually written by my daughter Dori, who expressed interest in writing an article from her perspective.  I am, of course, proud of her for doing this.

Dori was in fourth grade when I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  She is now 17 years old and a junior in high school.  She loves fashion, travel, and writing.  My number one priority is to make sure I am around for her graduation a year from now.

For those who are wondering, though, I am doing pretty well right now. …

After my last column, in which I described how I recently felt strong enough to try practicing yoga, I realized that there have been many changes in my life since my myeloma diagnosis four years ago.

Although no one would want to be handed a diagnosis of any kind of cancer, including multiple myeloma, I managed to scrape through the tough times. Now I have emerged onto a clear plateau of being in a remission, and I no longer need to take any chemotherapy drugs.

Now that I can look out and …

Anyone living with multiple myeloma knows that the emotional hurdles faced can seem as formidable as the physical challenges.

Despite nearly five years of trying to maintain an upbeat outlook on life while sparring with myeloma, I still wrestle with the fact that there are circumstances that I can’t control and mountains that I can’t seem to move.

And just when I hit a low point, something happens to rejuvenate my spirits.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Sophie G., a bright, outgoing, straight-A eighth-grader, deliberately made her way into the packed gymnasium …

“Your myeloma is stable.”  Short, sweet music to my ears!

I’m not sure she realized it, but my myeloma specialist had just opened up a world of possibilities for me.

Two years ago, I relapsed for the first time.  After taking a year-and-a-half to finally achieve remission again, all were concerned when I relapsed after ten short weeks.  Now, after three months on Velcade (bortezomib) and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron), I waited to find out if that basic com­bi­na­tion was enough to stall out my myeloma’s active return.  It was. …

Last year, I emerged from a three-week hospital stay for a stem cell trans­plant in late March.  On the drive home, I almost wept with happi­ness looking at the flowering cherry trees, forsythia bushes, and tulips. Com­pared with the subdued hues of my hospital room, the colors were so glorious and bright.   Spring had come early, and March had been one of the warmest on record.

This year, it has been cool here in the northeast, and spring has been late and extended.  The cherry trees are not even in full bloom, …