Early summer morning, low clouds spitting rain. My girls are running late for work again. They’ve been lolly-gagging in the bathroom and we need to be on the road to the local market, where they’re getting their first taste of earning an honest wage. I wear my “annoyed face” as they scurry to the car, but secretly, I’m proud of them. They’ve been ...
Long ago, I determined that if my house ever caught fire, the one thing I would grab would be my photo albums. Everything else, I reasoned, was replaceable. But life’s memories? Impossible. Tragic. Re-organizing the basement this summer, I opened a Tupperware container of mementos and immediately smelled danger. Not smoke or fire, thank goodness, ...
Having grown up without sisters, my husband has always been intrigued by female gatherings. This was why, 28 years ago, he crashed my bridal shower to give me a store-wrapped gift (which, among other things, contained a couple of wooden watches). The card read, “May our life together always be an adventure.” Inside the box was a pair of tomato red ...
When I recently posted the picture of Bob’s boots for his 10th Alive Day, we were stunned by the response. So many of you sent your own heartfelt stories; tales of survival and triumph, moments where you were tested or felt joy. And you sent pictures. Beautiful pictures of your boots and flat feet running shoes. You wanted us to know that you too ...
January 29, 2016 Dear Bob, Ten years. That’s how long it’s been since anyone has touched these boots. Ten years since they made their way back to me from the military ER in Iraq. They were stuffed in a clear plastic bag, along with your dented helmet, watch and wallet, caked with dried blood. At the time, I couldn’t bring myself to look at them. They ...