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In search of lost time

6 Jan

In search of lost time

When Betty came to visit, she gave me a single paperwhite bulb. I didn’t have a proper container to force it, so I jury-rigged one out of a votive holder and some tin. Within a few days of being given water, the roots began to reach down and a tiny green shoot began to work its way out. This week, the flowers bloomed, and looking at them brings me peace. The plant is so fragile just floating there, but so pretty, too. (more…)

More quotes from my mother

28 Nov

In another installment of things my mother said while visiting, we have a wealth of Bettyisms. Last night, she noticed that I was writing them down, and she suspected I am making fun of her. Not so. I just think that she is funnier than the average mother. Everyone who meets her thinks so, and maybe you will, too. So here they are, presented almost entirely out of context: (more…)

And now we are two

26 Nov

Today my mother and I distracted ourselves so that we wouldn’t feel the ache of our first Thanksgiving without my father. Our plan worked for a while, and I got a kick out of seeing how excited she was to cruise around Marin in a rented convertible. But then night fell, and just as I was about to say that we should call Dad at the nursing home, I remembered reality and missed him. It is so strange to spend decades as a family trio, and now it’s just me and my mom. This is an uncomfortably unknown experience. Today I thought about my dad while watching waves crash into rocks, while passing the spot where we ate sourdough together, and while eating olives. (He always loved olives.) I am thankful for many, many things. Getting through today is one of them.

So you’re Team Edward, I take it?

25 Nov

My mother is not immune to New Moon mania. “I was watching Jimmy Kimmer or one of those new late-night guys and those Twilight people were on,” she was saying tonight. “They looked bored to death. And I know you think that Robert Pattison is a hunk, but you know, he has unkempt facial hair.” (more…)

Perhaps it’s time to find a new hobby

23 Nov

There’s no reasonable excuse for making this video, and I know I should be ashamed of it. And yet I feel the need to share. Here you go.


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