About Janice Post-White

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So far Janice Post-White has created 44 blog entries.

Finding Meaning in Life’s Turning Points

Shutterstock, Andy Dean Photography Life events are the situations; the insight we gain is our story. What meaning do you make of the turning points in your life? Have you ever waited for something that seemed to take forever to happen or get resolved? And after all that waiting, the outcome wasn’t guaranteed or might not be what you expected? I’m still lying in bed 20 hours a day, waiting for the pain to lessen and my spine to heal on its own from two compression fractures. The neurosurgeon’s PA says to give it 12 weeks. It’s been almost 6 weeks since I fractured the second vertebra (bending over [...]

Hope in the Face of Despair: Overcoming Feelings of Overwhelm

Is it spring where you are? Tell me what it’s like, please! I want to know that somewhere the sun is gently warming the frozen soul (and soil); that green, hopeful shoots are peeping up; and that warm rains are drizzling life back into roots that rested for a season. Here in Minnesota, vibrant life remains buried beneath feet of ice and snow. It was 7 degrees Fahrenheit on the first day of Spring. We are ready to move on—with the seasons, with living—but venturing forth too early into an icy world carries risk. Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised to still find chill at five months into a typical Midwest winter, three years into [...]

2023-03-24T20:11:07-04:00March 24th, 2023|Categories: Health, Hope, Perspective, Resilience, Stress, Survival|Tags: , , , , |

How Are Your New Year’s Resolutions Going?

Did you make New Year's resolutions? Here’s one way to empower yourself to reach your goals. Resolutions and Intentions I wrote in my January newsletter that I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but I do set intentions. And then I wondered what the difference was and why resolutions didn’t work for me. Somewhere over the years, I stopped making resolutions to get more exercise and eat healthier and set self-imposed deadlines for work and writing projects. The goals felt more like something I should do or would do anyway, without a specific outcome, rather than what I wanted to work on. Instead, I started setting intentions for my emotional well-being and spiritual growth and that [...]

Gateway to a New Year: Open the Door to Joy

Reflecting on this past month and seeking joy in the moments has helped me move from just getting through the days to knowing what’s important and meaningful. January is a long, wintry month in Minnesota, but I know what to expect. December is one of the most contradictory months. It’s ethereally gray in the Midwest and enviably sunny and bright wherever you are. It’s filled with excitement for holiday festivities or dread over expectations. Traditions remind us of who we’ve lost, but also of who and what we’ve gained. Past years haunt us or revive fond memories, and the future feels hopeful and/or uncertain. Turning the calendar (literally or figuratively) offers an opportunity to reflect [...]

2022-12-27T23:26:12-05:00December 27th, 2022|Categories: Chronic illness, Finding Joy, Health, Hope, Living through Darkness|Tags: , , |

How Ready Are You for Change?

The switch to standard time last night ushered in a blustery fall day here in Minnesota. It’s an hour before sunset and the dry leaves rip off the trees in a fury and shape-shift patterns in the yard. The squirrels search beneath the piles and scurry off to bury their treasures. The cardinals and blue jays descend as a team as soon as the wild turkey and feral cat run off for the night. Last night after dark the opossum snapped his razor-sharp teeth into the nose of a hefty raccoon twice his size, both vying for the single can of leftover shredded chicken cat food and turkey breast trimmings. Winter in Minnesota fosters competition [...]

Finding Balance by Letting Go

The fall equinox and a new moon in Libra invite us to find harmony and balance by letting go of thoughts that no longer bring peace and joy. Happy fall equinox for those of us in the northern hemisphere (happy glorious spring equinox for our southern companions). For one day (Sept 22), the earth was in perfect balance on its 23.5º axis with the sun pointed directly at the equator. Everyone around the globe had 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. Balance. Global synchrony. Did you notice? What does balance even feel like? For me, it’s not an outcome to achieve (how would I know when I’ve found it?) but an ongoing [...]

Why We Write, Why We Read

Writers write to make sense of their experiences and share their insights. Readers read memoirs to find inspiration, hope, and perspective.        “I haven’t read your book, but I can see why you wrote it,” one of my physicians said to me at a follow-up appointment. “It must have been healing to write.” I’ve reflected on this comment for two months now, not quite sure why I feel unsettled by it. Yes, writing Standing at Water’s Edge helped me process and make sense of my young son’s leukemia and the impact it had on our lives. Reliving (required, and very much a part of the process) and writing about those stressful years of [...]

2022-07-30T08:26:32-04:00July 30th, 2022|Categories: Books, Life Lessons, Readers, Reflections, Writing|Tags: , , , , |

Déjà vu to Summer

Welcome to summer and the predictability of the seasons despite the changes in our lives.   It’s officially summer in the northern hemisphere, with 15.5 hours of sunlight in Minnesota today, the summer solstice. The stray kitties—that we fed throughout the long, frigid winter—arrive at our doorstep for a sunrise breakfast (5:30 am) and roam with the lone turkey and deer, chase the ever-present squirrels, and keep their distance from the early evening raccoon family of five that scavenges left-over cat food, before sauntering off to wherever they hide away for rest and respite from predators (coyote night-roamer) and the elements (100+ degrees with 91% humidity this week). They have their routine and we have ours [...]

2022-06-24T20:27:57-04:00June 21st, 2022|Categories: COVID-19, Health, Summer|Tags: , , , , |

Making COVID Choices When the Options are Slim

Linear wave with dots and lines moving in space. istock photo by Maksym Kaplun I chose Evusheld, a monoclonal antibody to prevent COVID in immunocompromised people. I reacted and now my options are slim. How are you staying well? Paying Attention to Patterns   I often told my students that three points make a better line than two when analyzing research data. And if they were seriously invested, four points make an even stronger case for predicting trends or outcomes. That’s generally true, especially if the connect-the-dot line is linear. I’ve just completed a single case study (me) that included four monoclonal antibody injections over the past year (three against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein), and [...]

What Are You Waiting For?

What are you waiting for? What are you doing to feed your soul, fuel your passions, and bring color and hope to your world? I’m waiting for the sun to shine. This month in Minnesota was on average 8 degrees colder than last April. Well, okay, the snow did melt off the sidewalks, so it’s safe to walk outside now. But it’s been raining or snow flurrying or cloudy and overcast and windy and cold for 5 months now. Enough already! Where is spring? I’m waiting for color to paint my world, our world. Do you have flowers blooming and trees budding and sun shining in your backyard? If so, I’m happy for you. Truly I [...]

2022-04-29T22:40:28-04:00April 29th, 2022|Categories: Hope, Motivation, Pleasure|Tags: , , , , , |
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