From the category archives:

good grief

The Dying Season

August 26, 2008

Not too long ago, we bathed The Poo while chatting about all the people who love her.
We listed off all her grandparents, and then spent time explaining how we, her parents, were also children.
“Your grandma and grandpa are my mommy and daddy,” Mr. Chicken told her, as he sluiced shampoo from her hair using a [...]

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Mrs. Chicken Loves Her Some Mamma

April 1, 2008

While my father’s death was terrifying, bloody and unexpected, I can take comfort in one small moment that took place just before he crashed in the ER.
I had just fetched him a blanket – he was cold from blood loss, although I did not know that at the time – and I stroked his bald [...]

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Norman Mailer And Me

January 17, 2008

There was a time when I believed – with all my heart – that I could be a writer.
Never a stellar student (working hard has never suited my temperament), I excelled effortlessly in English class. The books we read lit my mind on fire, the words and the stories taking me far from the dreary [...]

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Three

December 15, 2007

Three years ago right now I stood in the kitchen of a downtown loft apartment, teary-eyed and craving the comfort of a cup of coffee.
The locket I normally wore around my neck was pooled inside my nervous palm, a necklace given to my mother by my father on the occasion of her 21st birthday. Inside [...]

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American Pie

October 27, 2007

In the days and weeks just after my father died, every time I got in the car I heard “American Pie” by Don McLean. My husband, mother and sister had the same experience.
******
I drove to our local apple orchard Wednesday morning to gather some Halloween decorations.
As I headed westbound, toward home, I decided to take [...]

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