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Slipstream
The moon rises to its midnight spot like luminescent hands on a clock. The last bang of the wooden auction gavel echoes, fades, and signals the day’s dismantle. Scraping seats…
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Marked
…by Fashion 6:30 am. Today I have a 2-hour drive to the nursing home where I am assigned. As I distractedly lock the front door and head to my car…
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Happy Birthday, Reese!
One Reese is 1. Happy first anniversary of her day of birth! Do you remember that age when everything is still a possibility, no mistakes have been made, and we…
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The Moment I Knew
Obsession I am 50 and I am obsessed with Taylor Swift. It is not just that I like her music, I *love* her music. It is not just that I…
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I Love You Too
Resident Stories As I leave Sister Margaret’s room, she asks if she can bless me and I say “Yes, of course.” She bows her habit-less head and extends her arms…
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Bark, the Herald Angels Sing
As a puppy with eyes as blue as cornflowers, Hank loved to sleep in my brother-in-law Mike’s flip flop. Hank grew to be huge, lanky, and lopey with a cowboy’s…
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California Dreamin’
Erin, Mike, and I converge on Sean’s house in Los Angeles in late October. After we three travelers settle in, we start to plan our California coastal drive from LA…
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Vipassana (3/3)
“Begin again!” booms the resonant voice from the wall speakers that surround us. The voice combines James Earl Jones, a vampire, Michel from Gilmore Girls, and a belching bullfrog. It…
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Vipassana (2/3)
Slowly and apprehensively, I drive down Green Street in the quiet Delaware neighborhood of Claymont. On my left is a six-foot privacy fence that runs the length of the block.…
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Worried
I am worried. I am not a worrier, not usually worried. My mantra is “I-am-sure-everything-will-work-out-just-fine”. I like to think I am the epitome of anti-drama and anti-anxiety. But yet… I…
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Swipe Right
While contemplating this chapter, I struggle with what to write about dating. I am very clear on what I did NOT want to write. First, I thought I would write…
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Happy Birthday, Cora!
These tributes begin with the eldest members of the family and will end with the youngest. Cora is the last accolade, but first in our hearts. (Edit: Reese was born in 2022…
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Her Story Made History
The man in line beside me smirks at my answer to the cashier’s question “What movie?” Then, he stares at my breasts. I don’t know the reason for his mirth, disdain,…
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Happy Birthday, Mike!
In my car, I keep a book called If, which is a compilation of moral questions to incite conversation. I like to use it on road trips. One question is:…
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Happy Birthday, Sean!
Sean doesn’t like when my family tells stories over and over again, nor does he like to talk about himself. Hold on, Sean. Here we go. When I was three…
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25 Ways Optometry School and Grey’s Anatomy are the Same and Different
Recently, I have been rewatching past Grey’s Anatomy episodes. I am struck by the similarities and differences between the TV show and my experience in optometry school. 1. Cool City…
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Happy Birthday, Dad!
My Dad’s birthday is one day after my Mom’s. They are the same age for exactly one day. My Dad didn’t have the same request for writing down special memories…
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Happy Birthday, Mom!
Whenever I release a new blog post, my mom is the first one to read it, always sending me inspirational emails. “Wonderful post again. You are so special.” or “This…
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10 Gratitudes
Ten Gratitudes of a T1D Insulin Pump Wearer: A day without a blood sugar reading over 140. Diabetes is tough to control. Learning to count carbs and give insulin with…
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#T1DLooksLikeUS
I don’t talk often about my Type 1 diabetes. I’m not sure why. For many decades, I have dealt with it. I talk about every other aspect of my life, probably…
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#T1DLooksLikeMe
When someone learns that I have Type 1 Diabetes, my usual response is “Yes, yes, I do, but, no worries, it’s not a big deal, I am fine with it.”…
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Canada (3/3)
11 PM, 10/26/2016, Canada Border Dear Mom and Dad, Bonjour from Montreal, Canada! Our late night drive through the backwoods of Maine was uneventful. Despite the warnings from many locals…
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Mount Katahdin (2/3)
6 AM, 10/25/2016 Dear Mom and Dad, Sorry that I didn’t write yesterday, but what an experience we had! The morning started out well. I had a restful, but cold…
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Connecticut, Delaware, Food, Friends, Lessons, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Memories, National Park, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Van
Acadia (1/3)
9 PM, 10/10/2016 Dear Mom and Dad, Guess what? I have decided to travel the United States in a camper van. Yes, I will be (probably temporarily) living in a van…
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Hiking OUT of the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon has a varied animal population. I see just two types of animals- scorpions and deer. The scorpions are dead and on the trail, crushed by hiker’s boots. I…
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Hiking INTO the Grand Canyon
The moment that you drop over the rim is breathtaking. The path transforms from a simple hike in the woods to a vista beyond compare. We take our time, taking…
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Hike the Grand Canyon?
My birthday wish was to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Having visited the South Rim of the canyon a few times before, I was enamored. I loved…
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My Name is Safety
After experiencing Yosemite National Park, I am fascinated by the many ways that people die there. The book, Death in Yosemite by Michael Ghiglieri and Charles Farabee published in 2008, is a fascinating…
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The Forty Percent Rule
It has been said that the worst part of Navy SEAL training is Hell Week, which is five and a half days of physical training for twenty hours a day, running over…
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Happy Alaska (5/5)
Aurora borealis, or the northern lights, can be seen an average of 243 days a year in Fairbanks. The northern lights are produced by charged electrons and protons striking the earth’s…
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Sad Alaska (4/5)
Most of the villages are dry, meaning the sale and the possession of alcohol is illegal. But that doesn’t keep the villagers from consuming it. Alaska has one of the highest…
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Buckland and Selawik, Alaska (3/5)
Let’s compare populations of these Alaskan villages. Noorvik has 608 people, 96% native with a median age of 24. With 596 people, Buckland is 96% native with a median age…
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Noorvik, Alaska (2/5)
All of the villages we visit are above the Arctic Circle. What does that mean? The Arctic Circle is the most northerly of the abstract five major circles of latitude shown on maps…
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Anchorage and Kotzebue, Alaska (1/5)
My first glimpse of Alaska is from the airplane window and it is breathtaking. The white mountains look foreboding, distant and beckoning at the same time, like the Alaskan culture.…
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Lessons Learned, Part Three
53. Everyone is your friend when you are at the top of McAfee Knob and everyone needs someone to take that iconic picture. 54. Walmart is the same in Billings,…
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Nashville, McAfee Knob and HOME
The Music Highway is the road (I-40) between Memphis and Nashville. It is so named because of the rich music history in both cities and on the path between them.…
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Death in Memphis
Abby (the Hound Dog) and I are on our own again, headed to Memphis. I think Bill Bryson best described driving alone for an extended period of time in his…
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Truth and Consequences, then Roswell
About two hours from Flagstaff is the Petrified Forest National Park, which encompasses parts of the Rainbow Forest and the Painted Desert. While the names sound glorious, this park’s description may…
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The Best of Colorado, Utah and Arizona
For this stretch of the trip, my childhood friend, Kelly, accompanied us. Kelly and I met in Kindergarten, when (as Kelly vividly remembers and I do not) I sat next to…
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Lessons Learned, Part Two
29. Nothing will make you feel more alive than standing alone, on the top of a mountain, at 11,000 feet, in three feet of snow, without a single noise or…
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The Grand Tetons
Yes, they were named for exactly what you are thinking, you with the dirty mind. French trappers said that they looked like boobs and it stuck. “Tetons” is “breasts” in…
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Lessons Learned, Part One
So far on this trip, I have learned some valuable lessons: 1. Always drive the speed limit. It is respectful to the locals and the wildlife. Driving carefully is the…
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Yellowstone
We wake to bright light pouring in the two large bedroom windows that meet at the corner of the room. I stretch, displacing Abby, who gets up and shakes. I…
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Sturgis
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is an American motorcycle rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota. It lasts ten days and is usually during the first full week of August. In 1938, a group…
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Abby
“You don’t even know where I’m going.”“I don’t care. I’d like to go anywhere.”― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America If someone asks me what is the best part…
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South Dakota
Our Badlands cabin window faces east. Abby and I wake to a gorgeous sunrise over this foreign landscape. It features sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires that blend with the…
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In the Driver’s Seat
You may wonder about the logistics of traveling for an extended time, spending hours in my car. Generally, I store the necessities on the passenger side, within easy reach. My Yeti with my Chai…
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Midwest Plains
Mammoth Cave Mammoth Cave is epic. It is the largest cave system in the world. That’s right, the WORLD! It has 400 underground miles that have been explored and who knows…
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Pittsburgh
“Road trip!!!!” One month. One car. One woman. One dog. One spreadsheet of AirBnB reservations and destinations. Five hours to our first stop. I want Pittsburgh to be my first…
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Parentheses
When I first thought about the domain name for my blog (www.drmariahiggins.com), I heard a voice in my head say DOCTOR Maria Higgins. The DOCTOR spoken in a haughty, contemptuous…
Introspective optometrist seeks inspiration and adventure
