We met the relatives. It was surprisingly comfortable. It would have been easy to mistake the gathering as a normal family reunion of people who haven’t seen each other in a lengthy period of time, except we were the branch that they didn’t know existed. Oh, they knew that a baby boy had been born. […]
What do you call an extended family reunion of people who didn’t know each other existed until recently? It’s certainly not a “re”-union. I’m still working on the correct word for the occasion, but it is happening next month. People, pictures, slides, old movies and a mix of happy and anxious feelings are going to […]
As my father groggily fought his way out of the sedation from the CABG surgery, he repeatedly asked which leg the doctor amputated. Everyone reassured him that his legs were still attached, but even as he became more lucid, he remained convinced that he was going to lose a leg. “It was just a dream. […]
To family/friends: “The pain is terrible.” To nurses: “I’m fine.” “I don’t want you to be frightened by all the tubes and wires, but . . . I’m peeing right now.” “That nurse has a funny accent. Does she have a green card?” “I don’t want the nurses to help me. That’s your mother’s job.” […]
Me: “Dad is really grouchy today.” Doug: “Which of the children told on me?” Me: “Umm, I meant MY father, but thanks for the confession.”
This is the picture of my mother that the Red Cross mailed to my grandfather when he was on a ship somewhere in the ocean. Every time I look at it, I skip through time to visit people now gone and places I’ve never been. Past, present and future memories are the gifts I receive […]
“You know why they really do that don’t you?” “Don’t let him turn gay.” “Four way stops are the worst thing EVER invented.” “I think I should start wearing women’s clothes.” “It’s okay if people drink and drive, they just shouldn’t talk on their phones and drive.”
Grandaddy: “I’m at the bookstore and I need to find something for your mother.” Me: “Do you want to give her a book, music or coffee?” Grandaddy: “I want to get a CD and one book.” Me: “Okay. Walk to the music area and find the pop section” Grandaddy: “Found it.” Me: “Look for Jack […]
As Thanksgiving dinner digested and the children wandered off until they heard the word dessert, newspapers became one of our many topics of conversation. My mother expressed displeasure in the local paper’s recent changes and my father scoffed at my suggestion that he was the last generation to rely on newspapers. Actually, he laughed at […]