SUE'S VIEWS

Nov 2, 20213 min read

Drafting Your Own Will - A Cautionary Tale

We live in an age where we can research almost everything online from diagnosing our illnesses to drafting our own legal documents. I...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Jun 1, 20212 min read

Coming Through the Walls of Her Memory

I read this someplace and liked it. We all think about our past and what we remember and what we don’t, and wonder if something really...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

May 10, 20212 min read

Deeds

I had intended to start writing about the Camino this week but as I went back to my papers from the walk, I came across notes about deed...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Apr 26, 20211 min read

The Camino

I was sitting with some friends last weekend and the Camino, which I had walked in 2011, came up. Someone asked if I had experienced...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Apr 20, 20212 min read

Little Things

I have a stapler that someone gave me a long time ago when I graduated from law school. It is metal and about 6 inches long and fits...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Apr 12, 20212 min read

Ceiling Fans

I sat there quietly in the Friends meeting with my eyes closed trying not to think and just meditate, breathe, center. Focus on being...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Apr 6, 20211 min read

The Way

I am stuck today and can’t seem to write a simple blog. Maybe it is the weather - high 70s and stunningly beautiful – so I decided to...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Mar 30, 20214 min read

Things My Mother Taught Me

I was vacuuming over the weekend and heard my mother’s voice saying, slow down and take at least five minutes. She must have come up with...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Mar 22, 20213 min read

The Care and Feeding of Trusts

Someone asked me if you write up trusts or set them up. Fair question. Estate planning has become increasingly complex, and more and more...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Mar 16, 20212 min read

Q-tips Redux

I was at the home of some friends who live on the main floor of a condominium. They have a little patio off the living room and above it...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Mar 8, 20212 min read

A to B to C to ... M?

A long time ago I was lamenting to someone that my life did not seem to follow the trajectory that I thought everyone’s should. This...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Mar 1, 20212 min read

Coffee

When I left for the Peace Corps in 2012, I gave away my furniture to family and friends and kept personal items in my children’s...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Feb 22, 20212 min read

And Then There Were Three

I come from a family of five siblings, one boy and four girls, but there are only three of us left now - three girls. Yes, I know, we are...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Feb 15, 20212 min read

Retrogrades

I had a friend, Pam, who was an astrologer and whenever things were not working, be that computers or phone calls or emails, I would call...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Feb 8, 20212 min read

ZOOM ROOM

The pandemic has changed so many things, but one of the most striking is language. Zoom meetings, zoom rooms, masked entry, social...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Feb 1, 20212 min read

Fairways to Forests

Acacia was a country club with a golf course before it closed and was sold to the Cleveland Metroparks. Now it is a park for everyone...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Jan 24, 20212 min read

Down The Rabbit Hole

I love Alice In Wonderland because so much of life feels like that story. All the craziness – croquet mallets that turn into flamingos...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Jan 17, 20212 min read

The Park Bench

I sat on the bench next to the river just off the trail. I noticed that the words “In loving memory of....” were engraved on the backrest...

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I Didn’t Know It Was This Complicated To Die

susan9024

Jan 11, 20213 min read

I Didn’t Know It Was This Complicated To Die

My 91-year-old client said this as we were reviewing her estate planning after her husband died and were discussing some options that...

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Susan Birmingham Brooks

Jan 4, 20212 min read

Time, Toilet paper and 2020

When I walked the Camino de Santiago in 2011, I did not bring a phone because this was to be a time to reflect and simply walk. Albeit a...

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