my dad

Help me support a worthy cause

[TL;DR: I’m donating a portion of the sales of my poetry book, from now through the end of the year, to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. There’s more info about them, and links, in the post below. My ebook is only 99 cents, a small amount for most people, and the more copies I sell,

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“And ransom captive Israel…”

We went to church on Christmas Eve afternoon with Jeff’s mom, and it was a simple, lovely, musical service. There was a band, maybe five musicians, and the service began with everyone standing to sing a few well-known hymns. Then everyone sat down, there was another song or two, and then a woman came to

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Happy Anniversary to Scout, Atticus, Harper … and Chris & Harry

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is one of very few books that I would recommend to anyone, if they haven’t read it yet. It’s the only book that I recommend to people who don’t read very often. During my husband’s months of unemployment,

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Article on Roger Ebert brings me to tears. (What’s new?)

I’ve already been on the computer too long, need to get myself changed and on the treadmill and ready for Lost (wahoo!), but I just read this WHOLE article and it’s just fantastic. It’s a feature article about Roger Ebert in Esquire, and dammit, it made me cry in a few different places! The article

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Family game night?

My mother-in-law is here for the night, there’s nothing “must-watch” on TV, no firm plans. After dinner, I asked Jeff, “So did we decide anything about whether to play a game or something?” Jeff says, “No, not yet. Why, Honey, what would you want to play?” “Um…nothing.” “Oh really, nothing?” Jeff asks me, “What’s your

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“Let’s have some cooperation here!”

When I was in the sixth or seventh grade, I found among our endless piles of paper an old newsletter from my preschool. There was a note about me in the newsletter, among the stories for parents about their children’s doings. I don’t remember the incident itself – I would have been four years old

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A video tribute to Papa

Jeff and I posted our first YouTube video last night. I did most of the prep work, loading and editing digital photos and scanning older pictures. Jeff selected the photos and arranged them, basically in chronological order, and chose the song that’s playing in the background, “I Find Your Love” by Beth Nielsen Chapman. I

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I can’t find the time to tell you

When I was young, maybe six or seven, I remember one time I was sitting on my dad’s lap, listening to records with him. A song came on that I didn’t recognize, and I asked him what it was. He said, “I Can’t Find the Time to Tell You.” I was quiet for a few

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My mother, and her hair styles, through the years

I talked with Jerilyn last Tuesday after she visited my mom, and she said she’d spent about 90 minutes with her. They had a good conversation, including my mom asking why she’s getting hospice services, and Jerilyn saying that my mom had really been declining earlier in the year, so she had needed the extra

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When you gonna love you… ?

A couple of co-workers of mine spent all day today at the library annex, instead of coming back to the headquarters building in the afternoon. They were getting a lot accomplished, so figured they’d keep on the rest of the day. I was thinking about this on the way to Wal-Mart this evening, and I

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