We were three stair-steps growing up, cousins each a year apart, Gina-Carol-Carla. There were a lot of cousins — thirty-two on my mom’s side — but we were special somehow. Close enough in age and without major personality conflicts, I think. Our mothers mostly indulged us; cousins were safe friends. Sometimes we were all together,… Continue reading In Groups of Three
Category: Memories
Chocolate Mortar
I must have been about a year and a half old in this picture, and I don't remember it a bit. I know I'd seen the picture before, but I forgot about it entirely until I found it in a stack of family snapshots a couple of months ago. Given the news lately, I feel… Continue reading Chocolate Mortar
Sleepy Reader
There I am, sleeping in my father's recliner. Mostly he was the one who slept in that chair. He always started by reading The Daily Record, the local paper out of Wooster. It was delivered in the late afternoons then, and it was still a full-size broadsheet, and he read it after supper. He tried,… Continue reading Sleepy Reader
Things I Have Learned from Cake
It was my husband's birthday last week. His favorite dessert that I make is red velvet cake, although rhubarb dream bars and any kind of pie are not to be sneezed at. I usually make the cake sometime around Christmas, but last December I decided a lot of things were less important than my sanity… Continue reading Things I Have Learned from Cake
Elephants, and Friends
I got an e-mail yesterday telling me that my friend's mother, who was also my friend, died last week unexpectedly. The e-mail came from her own account, and I was used to receiving updates on her family, but the subject line was "Sheila" - her name - and I was uneasy even before I opened… Continue reading Elephants, and Friends