Currently viewing the tag: "mother"

Smiling Down

May 13, 2012 by

It’s been a perfect Mother’s Day so far. Elijah has been pampering us with food and drink and we got to video chat with Aaron, who will be home for a visit in a couple of weeks. Louise wanted to get a hanging flower basket so we walked down to Fred Meyer together. The store […]

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Pilgrimage

March 25, 2012 by

Every year around this time I make a pilgrimage to a foreign land. Like all pilgrimages, it requires mental and spiritual preparation. Sometimes I get lost on my journey. Or I arrive, only to wander aimlessly. Today was the day. My course was straight and true and I found my way without a single misstep. […]

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Inseparable

December 5, 2011 by

I guess it’s sorta cheating when I consider my original rules, but I know I can always find a worthy recipient at the Dollar Tree. It’s right on my way home from work, which is an added plus on these days when it starts getting dark around 4:00. The place was as busy today as […]

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Just For You

August 5, 2011 by

I thought I would be smarting for days after my encounter with Charlie, but I was fine. I’ve pondered our exchange a lot, and mostly find myself grateful that our paths converged. I got many encouraging emails and comments about the story, and am grateful for that as well. You readers are a kind and […]

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What’s better than stepping outside and eating food from your own garden? I would argue: nothing. Gardening definitely appeals to the cheapskate in me (look! free food!). But it’s not just that. I’ve always loved working outside, from early memories helping my Dad chop wood for the fireplace. I would climb into the wheelbarrow and […]

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We had a short ceremony today and “unveiled” the headstone marking my mother’s grave. By Jewish tradition, the one-year anniversary of the death of a parent marks the end of a period of deep mourning. It’s just regular old mourning from here on out: the ups and downs of memory and loss. We Jews generally […]

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Love, Jill

March 29, 2011 by

March 29. Today would have been my mom’s 90th birthday. She planned to live to be 90, and she almost made it. When she died in May, it was peaceful and I was right there at her side. But she didn’t want to die. Not ever. She always said she couldn’t die until she saw […]

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7/100 I had coffee with a friend yesterday, someone I haven’t sat down and talked with for a few months. She asked me a lot of questions about this process, how I feel about it now, how it’s changed me, what I was feeling about my mother. About my mother? Mostly, I am missing her. […]

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I love the bargains at Goodwill, but I really go there for the selection. While most department stores have a handful of styles in my size (little-bitty), at Goodwill there are DOZENS of options. They have the clothes all sorted by color, which I guess kind of makes sense. This does explain why everything I […]

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Day #2 of 100 hundreds. Back home in Portland, enjoying a few more days of vacation before heading back to work on Monday. Some days you just know you’d better pay attention, like there are lessons to be learned around every corner. It started when I was at the gym this morning. A woman got […]

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