The year really began six weeks before the calendar turned over to 2016. It began on Nov. 15, 2015, when an aneurysm ruptured in my brain. That event kicked off a long sequence of events that made 2016 one of the most memorable years of my life. Many days it seemed as though my life … read more The year in review
Tag: family
Pictures on the mantel
They aren’t expensive frames. Plain black wood, the kind you have to sort through in the display racks at the drugstore, and check carefully to find a couple that aren’t scratched or dinged. After I’d put the two 8 by 10 prints in the frames, and set them on the mantel, I sat and looked at them … read more Pictures on the mantel
Bonded
This is my son, Tom. Richard introduced Tom a half-dozen times this weekend. Each time, he said those words clearly and with warmth. It felt better each time. Tom realized that he’d never heard it spoken that way before. This is my son, Tom. The impact of these words sums up what became clear over the … read more Bonded
All my cousins
I don’t know for sure, off the top of my head, how many cousins I have. More than 30. I’d have to go to the family tree chart and count. The photo here is from 2012, and it doesn’t come close to capturing everyone. And now two of them are gone. Tom only had five … read more All my cousins
Family dinner
Richard and Tom lingered long over breakfast in the hotel dining room, talking about politics – state by state. Sara and Jane showed up because they were out shopping for dinner. We stayed so long, just enjoying each other’s company, that the manager had to ask us to leave so that the staff could clean … read more Family dinner
A birthday like no other
It’s getting so late. They were driving from Dulles and they should have been here by 7 p.m. Tom and I hardly know what to do with ourselves while we wait. This meeting has been more than five months in the making: Tom’s biological father, Richard, and sister, Danielle. Richard’s cousin Susan in England, our initial … read more A birthday like no other
I apologize
It’s Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which I think is among the greatest of religious holidays. As my friend Erika explains beautifully, Yom Kippur is a good time to call those who are important to you and tell them that you value their love and friendship over whatever differences you may have. Yom Kippur is also the time … read more I apologize
I’ve just seen a face
Who’s that? Picasa knows – even after one glance. Facial recognition has been built into Google’s free photo editing software, Picasa, since 2009. It’s remarkably good. You type in a name on one picture of a person, and it instantly identifies and labels all your photos of that person. If Picasa isn’t certain who the person is in a particular photo, it … read more I’ve just seen a face
The distance I feel
I used to love to talk to my sisters on the phone. We’d talk for hours. There was never enough time to talk to my sisters as much as I wanted to. I’ve got old friends who I used to talk with that way, too. Hours. Today, I talked to one of them. I squeezed it in … read more The distance I feel
Big booties to fill
Been thinking about Grandma Alma again. Alma had a husband who made her promise to keep the family together and then died leaving her with eight small children, no money and a mortgage she couldn’t pay, and then people bought her farm stuff for pennies at auction and some of them never paid her. I … read more Big booties to fill