Sitting with my family around the increasingly wobbly antique dining table that still reminds me of childhood family Christmases, I am passing around bowls of pasta with two types of tomato sauce. "Do you want the one with olives, Beth?" "Is it the olives that taste like fish?" "They don't … [Read more...] about The Best Thing That Happened Today
Relationships
RBG And The Garage Clearance
We're in the garage preparing for a long-overdue run to the tip. Logs are piled in scant preparation for a hard winter that may well be more severe than we care to think about. My son hauls a filthy sports bag down from a shelf next to boxes of an album I made a decade ago and for which I … [Read more...] about RBG And The Garage Clearance
Building An Invincible Summer
The dog has taken to sleeping on the bed, pushed up hard against me leaving no space while she sprawls at all angles, snoring loudly. I always said she'd never be allowed on the bed but her life is short. It disturbs my sleep but rising early in these warm mornings I soon shrug it off. We … [Read more...] about Building An Invincible Summer
Making Tiny Imperceptible Changes
The sticky overwhelming night bears down on me making sleep all but impossible. The dog shifts from place to place, the floor, the bed, downstairs, the bed, the floor, always picking her way around the cool mat, the one place she might find some peace. I consider curling up on it myself. A … [Read more...] about Making Tiny Imperceptible Changes
Learning How To Drive
My daughter is learning to drive and I'm giving her practice in my son's car. "Don't crash it," he says as she flips the keys from the hook by the front door. She ignores him while I think how incredibly unhelpful his comment is to a nervous driver, especially one who is about to take his … [Read more...] about Learning How To Drive