Monthly Archives: February 2026

Friends, Nurse Claire has a new episode!

https://nurseclairesays.com/2026/02/05/podcast-005-death-and-donation/

I know she is only five episodes in, but this one might be her best. The topic she and her guest discussed is “organ donation”.

Please, do go have a listen. There is so much a value in this episode. I wonder how they packed it all into an hour.

If any priests are reading this, I especially urge you to listen to the episode.

It’s in quotes because the person in the video is not actually conversing with anything other than a database. Nonetheless and regardless of the first few seconds, and whether that’s accurate or not, the remainder is quite telling.

https://youtube.com/shorts/M1qg95wa-q0?si=ogXFKdJ_gqyoaot6

“ And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done.  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.” – Gen. 1:24-25

About an hour ago, I had to put my dog down. Buddy, the irascible and very temperamental Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix who came into my life thirteen years ago because my mother-in-law was in the hospital and I was too lazy to keep driving over to her house to feed him – had reached the end of his life.

I did not want a dog. Instead I got a constant companion. And although I know he literally ceased to exist (there is no dog heaven) this afternoon, this was so very hard.

God knew what He was doing when He made them. He knew us humans would be captivated by them and love them. He knew that they make cute faces and we would fall in love. He knew they would bark at the mailman and we would say, “Nice job!” He knew that they would curl up next to us in bed and protect us from all the bad things in the shadows.

He created the beasts of the earth. And He saw that they were good.

I will miss my little friend.

Yes, even Christmas – my favorite season – must come to an end.

What you are looking at in this picture is the box that contains the 900 LEDs that have proudly stood attached to my 20’ flag pole these past number of weeks.

As the lights are in the box, that means they are no longer lighting up my neighborhood. This was the very last thing to come down signifying that today is the feast of the Purification and the traditional end of the Christmas season.

My neighbors, who have long since taken their lights down, probably think I am insane. They may be correct; but I will honor the Christmas season for every minute of its worth. 

For the handful of you who read these pages… If you read yesterday, you know. I spoke to my sister this morning. I thanked her. Gratitude. I woke up this morning in my own bed. I was alive and in one piece. Yes, there are titanium screws in my spine but so what? My dog was curled up at my side. My beautiful wife was asleep next to me. My children slumbered in their beds. I have a home, a life, a family. And I shed a tear of thanksgiving. She saved my life that night. Because of her I am here. And the life I live is because she did what she did.

You never know what God has in store for you – whether it be to do something great or to do something heroic so that someone somewhere generations removed can do something great.

I didn’t get to her grave this year. Next year is 45 years. I will plan on that.

This is… a tough week for us.

Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us!