Family and Friends

Until the End

On July 6, 2021 / Bereavement and End of Life, Family and Friends / 17 Comments

“I’ll stay until the end,” Lauren said. We knew what “the end” meant, but didn’t know when it would come. Doctors said any minute, but my husband hung on. Vic had gone downhill quickly, so our sons

Grief Rituals Keep Our Family Love Alive

On May 25, 2021 / Bereavement and End of Life, Family and Friends / 24 Comments

“I love you, David,” I say when my North Carolina son arrives on Thursday night. Because of the pandemic, I haven’t seen him for 8 months, so I wrap my arms around him and press my cheek

Eros and Arrows of Love

On April 13, 2021 / Bereavement and End of Life, Family and Friends / 17 Comments

“I can’t stop,” I said, choking out the words between my tears. “I just can’t…” Erotic attraction had been a big part of our lives since we met the year before at the beginning of my senior

I Rescued a Puppy and She Rescued Me

On March 2, 2021 / Family and Friends / 29 Comments

Each night around 9 pm, Disco watches my every move. Her eyes say, “Isn’t it time to go upstairs so I can put my head on your belly while you read? Isn’t it time to snuggle?” I’ve

Staying Close to Hestia’s Hearth

On December 22, 2020 / Family and Friends, Psychology and Mythology / 15 Comments

A foot of heavy snow fell in mid December. The world grew quiet and, for one night, there were no cars on my road. I stayed close to the woodstove hearth, the domain of the Greek Goddess

Brotherly Bonds

On October 27, 2020 / Family and Friends / 26 Comments

Little David pulled open the door and held up his arms for a hug. Snot dripped from his nose onto his red plaid shirt. He wasn’t sick when I’d left two days ago to give birth in

The Sacred Path of Love: Letters from 1967 & 2020

On August 4, 2020 / Bereavement and End of Life, Family and Friends / 37 Comments

July 12, 1967 Dear Esel, After your bus left, I couldn’t face the apartment, so went to the cycle shop. Maybe mindless people could make me forget. No hope. I finally got the strength to sulk back

Skin Color Defined Our Lives

On June 23, 2020 / Family and Friends / 19 Comments

Two little girls stand in an open field, close to each other but not touching. I’m the straight-haired girl with glasses, 7 years old, wearing a wool coat with plaid trim. The dark-skinned girl wears overalls with

The Peace of Surrender

On May 12, 2020 / Bereavement and End of Life, Family and Friends / 24 Comments

Rushing toward Strong Hospital in 2008, I call the pulmonologist, the oncologist, the cardiologist, and our family doctor. “Should we put your husband on a ventilator?” they ask me. “Can you give him chemo after he nearly

Choose What You Love

On March 3, 2020 / Family and Friends, Psychology and Mythology / 15 Comments

I lie in the dark in my lover’s arms listening to his slow sleeping breath. I’ve known him just a few months, but he’s the man I want to marry. A streetlight on West Seneca Street beams