So they are preparing to take Julie back to her house for hospice care. They’re setting up the equipment this afternoon. This evening she’ll be back in familiar surroundings. She will go to the house and then at some point in the near future she will go home. The decision was made yesterday. The chemo … Continue reading Les the Last
House and Half-an-Acre
Wednesday afternoon we signed more papers than I can count. It amounts to a book that the title company actually bound and gave to us so that we have it all in one place. That was thoughtful of them. Sign here and here and here, and initial here, and sign here and here and here … Continue reading House and Half-an-Acre
Pie for Breakfast
We were sitting around the table in Grandmother Musser’s dining room. We had traveled to West Virginia for Thanksgiving, as we had many times before. It was the home place, the place the family gathered, the place where my in-laws had grown up. Since we didn’t want Grandmother to have to cook everything or work … Continue reading Pie for Breakfast
Political Table Talk
There’s a lot of shouting going on these days. Conversation has turned into contention. ‘Civil discourse’ has become less civil with each election cycle. Here we are a day or two ahead of mid-term elections and from the sounds of the commercials you would think that no one running is worthy of being elected—to hear … Continue reading Political Table Talk
Many Excellent Mistakes
I was a mess. At least, that’s what it felt like to me. I had had high hopes and here I was in the midst of the depths. I had thought I had some of life figured out, but I was struggling to keep my head above water. Breath and a pulse were about the … Continue reading Many Excellent Mistakes
Hester the Great
Thursday afternoon she was lucid. She was tired, but that has been the norm for quite some time now. She was aching some all over. But she knew who she was and where she was and who was with her. She understood that we were talking with a social worker from hospice. She did not … Continue reading Hester the Great
Time to Speak Up
I am the youngest of four children. One of the advantages of being the youngest is that you already have older siblings ready to help take care of you. As the youngest you get the chance to be both the object of affection and jealousy all at the same time; you get built-in baby sitters … Continue reading Time to Speak Up
Character in the Making 