Happy Birthday

Walter is his neighbor; he lives a few doors down. There are two others in between them and even more in the general vicinity, but Walter has always been my favorite because they share the same birthday. It certainly isn’t because they knew each other (they didn’t), nor because they passed away on the same […]

Go on faith.

“Just keep at it,” I heard him say. He’ll say things to me from time to time. Some are complete thoughts, other times they’re words that seem random but aren’t; they’re relevant to a situation or a problem, and they’re a beacon for my foggy brain. I am my father’s daughter. Stoic and reserved, I […]

One year later.

It’s been a year. A year since our world changed forever, a year since he left. In so many ways it feels like it was just yesterday, so the fact that it’s been 365 days frequently boggles my mind. It was the 18th day of his hospital stay, and I think we all figured he’d […]

The Yardstick

My mom used to sew when I was little. I remember her sewing machine, its color, the smell, the sound. I tried a couple of times and can’t say my efforts were a complete failure, but I much preferred sewing small things by hand: scrunchies (it was, after all, the ’80s), maybe a doll dress […]