Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to stand up in a river with the water rushing past me, pushing me ceaselessly downstream. In the river of life, nothing lasts forever. Time is inexorable. It slows for no one. And the older you get, the more the water rises.

But maybe I'm just feeling philosophical because my sister gave us a scare this weekend. They found a blood clot in her brain, but fortunately it was in a vein not an artery. No stroke, and they're treating the clot with blood thinners.

Close call, but she's holding the water back for now. I only wish my younger brother had had a chance to fight back.