Tag Archives: Family

The Return, or, Indifference

I’d been anticipating this situation for months. As we all know, expectations often don’t match with reality. Sometimes, things work out quite differently. Over the weekend, my social club thew a party, celebrating the imminent return of warmer weather. Spring arrived, with Memorial Day only a handful of weekends away. Lounge chairs sat in neat […]

Tacking On Another Year

Another year has flown the coop, and I feel like a bird with clipped wings. Although I feel great and still can pass for looking pretty good, I’m not sure about the road ahead. This is the time when most people my age start planning their retirement. I’m in the unenviable position of never being […]

That Uncertain Feeling

I knew something was up when my boss appeared on the Zoom call with the HR person. That’s a sure sign nothing good’s going to happen. A sickly feeling crept up my spine. It was the first week of November, and just in time for the holidays, I was told that my position was being […]

An Expensive Proposition

“It would be great if you could come out here and visit,” said my son, who’s in the navy. “And even better if you can make it before I’m deployed.” “When’s that,” I asked. “Probably January. The end of,” he said. “Although I can’t be sure. They don’t tell me anything.” “I have some vacation […]

Dream Life

I’ve been getting weird lucid dreams lately. Really weird. Take, for example, last night. I dreamed that my mother – gone for a number of years now – was lying on her bed in our old house, looking quite youthful. I’d say she appeared to be in her 40s. She propped up her head on […]

Anticipation

I go for my COVID-19 second shot on Wednesday. Can’t wait. My boss and I already arranged to take the day off afterwards (she goes on Tuesday) so we can recuperate. Since it’s a common side effect to feel lousy within 24 hours of the second dose, we figured we’d probably need time under a […]

Conversations

Two things of note happened this weekend: I heard from two members of my family. And while that’s not unusual for most, for me, well, nothing’s ever simple. My cousin Bette lives about a third of the way across the country. We used to see each other frequently as kids. Didn’t even take forty-five minutes […]

Spring Awakening

Today is Easter, the holiday where The Lord is awaken from the dead. Spring also began just a couple of weeks ago, and, like the holy day, nature celebrates its rebirth from a long sleep. The trees and plants that seemed to die last year have once again come to life. Their beauty is something […]

Out of Darkness, Light

Last week was horrible. Just horrible. My cousins called me. My 95-year-old aunt died of COVID-19. She’d been frail, especially after breaking her arm last summer. After they move her into a rehabilitation home, then nursing home, my cousins knew their mother wasn’t coming out. Auntie had trouble remembering where she was or who she […]