Category Archives: Psyche

Not-At-Homeness

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

In his book “On the Road With St. Augustine,” James K.A. Smith writes about the not-at-homeness (a translation of Heidegger’s term Unheimlich) that is a familiar part of the human condition. It’s a “sense of frustration, futility, of never arriving, … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Psyche | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Year in Review, Part Two

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

Recently, I posted some thoughts about the past year. Life changed quite a bit during 2023, with a move from Michigan to Wisconsin, going from living alone to living in a communal setting, and from living in a different state … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Spirit | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

A Year in Review

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Bob Ritzema

A year ago I was living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, packing up in preparation for moving to Milwaukee. I had been there for ten years, ever since I came north to help my parents, and I had formed many attachments. … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Relationships | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

I Finally Got Covid

Posted on December 13, 2023 by Bob Ritzema

So, I finally got Covid, having dodged it for nearly four years. I started coughing Sunday afternoon, and it progressively got worse the next few days. I went for a Covid test on Tuesday, and it came back positive. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Body, Psyche | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Entering Community

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Bob Ritzema

My last post on this site, almost two months ago, detailed all the changes that had occurred in my life during 2022. I ended by describing my plan to move to Milwaukee to be near my oldest son and his … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Relationships | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Life Changes

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Bob Ritzema

Life changes. However, I didn’t experience much change for about 10 years. As I’ve written in previous posts, I came to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2012 to help my parents. That was a year of many changes, but then things … Continue reading →

Posted in caregiving, Psyche | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Living out of Necessity

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote recently about my vocation in older adulthood. I relayed some points made in Gordon Smith’s book Called to be Saints: An Invitation to Christian Maturity. Smith says that each of us has a God-given vocation, that our senior … Continue reading →

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My Vocation is not my Job

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Bob Ritzema

I recently wrote about one thing that has changed for me since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic; I’ve been less interested in writing blog posts. I’ve been thinking about other changes that have taken place. One of these has … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

On (Not) Writing in the Age of Covid

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Bob Ritzema

I haven’t written any posts for this blog for quite a while. I used to post at least once a month, but this is only the fifth post this year and the first since late May. With the coronavirus restrictions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Life Review: My Hardest Work Experience

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Bob Ritzema

I recently talked with a young adult friend about difficulties she’s having at work, and ended up telling her about the most difficult experience I had in five decades in the workplace. I’ve decided to write out the story as … Continue reading →

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