Perfect Storm

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com This fall I had an existential crisis. Or at least that is what I called it. There was perfect storm of sorts.... I was still grieving the loss of my father, I was sick, the holidays were approaching and I watched the absolutely wrong Tiktok. The loss of my father hit me … Continue reading Perfect Storm

Moving a House, by the Numbers

When Nancy called and told us she had found a condo she wanted to buy, we were thrilled for her.  Secretly, we had all worried about her alone in the big house on the hill, steep driveway to shovel in the winter, closing it down during her long travels, simply the maintenance of a older, … Continue reading Moving a House, by the Numbers

Weddings

There is a "let down" when a wedding is over, the thing that has consumed your every waking moment for months is done.  The venue is cleaned, the lights returned, family  gone. You find yourself suddenly alone and exhausted.  The worry that kept you up at night slips away, you spend the next two nights … Continue reading Weddings

Harry Potter

So I heard on the news that "Harry Potter" was 20 years old yesterday!  It made me think of my Harry Potter story...... My dad was getting married, and a wedding guest and friend of his new wife was Terry Brooks ("Sword of Shannara"). We were very excited to meet him because he had just … Continue reading Harry Potter

Birthdays

One year ago. I boarded a plane in the morning, switched off my phone and read a book. It had been weeks of wondering and waiting, so I decided.... "The heck with it, I am going down there NOW!" I made a reservation the next morning, and now found myself sitting on the plane, headed … Continue reading Birthdays

Sunday Football

It is Sunday, which means a family pancake breakfast, maybe even with bacon, always with orange juice.  After our breakfast off to church.  Sometimes, sometimes we don't bother, there were months and years that we didn't bother, instead, we laze around a bit, perhaps make a half-hearted attempt at the homework we have put off.  … Continue reading Sunday Football

Teacher Appreciation Week

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, there was a FB post that asked “friends” to list all the teachers you could remember.   I remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Alt. That is all I remember, her name, desks in rows. Lining up to use the bathroom. I remember throwing up in a book I was … Continue reading Teacher Appreciation Week

Home

Mist obscured mountains.  Shades of gray.  Pinpoints of treetops, water slate, sky slate.  This is home. A ferry cuts through the water, bright lights in the darkening sky. Trollers home from a long day at sea, headed for the marina, the dark shore across the narrows.  Lights from the docks beckon. It is time now … Continue reading Home

Hiraeth

A few years ago a cousin of mine posted a meme of a vocabulary word on Facebook. Hiraeth: A homesickness for a home which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for lost places in your past. I almost didn't read it, but when I did, it … Continue reading Hiraeth

Teacups

Afternoons with my grandmother were spent sipping tea.  Hot tea, no matter the weather. Tea from delicate, beautiful and oh-so-fragile teacups.  A cube or two of sugar, the lovely sound of metal ag… Source: Teacups