Connie and her husband Duane were my parents’ closest of friends for upwards of 40 years. They drove to Cleveland from their home in the hills of northwest New Jersey to crawl into bed with my father in his last days, to whisper their love for him, to share some memories, and to be, as always, the best friends they could be. My parents shared thousands and thousands and thousands of memories with Connie and Duane throughout the years. Their shared love for their Afghan hounds and Belgian sheepdogs, their joyful July 4th celebrations, hundreds and hundreds of weekly Sunday dinners, restaurant meals, New Years Eve parties, Thanksgiving graces, glasses of light red Beaujolais, local and national dog shows, chaffeuring one other, Zooming together, housesitting, and endless games of Trivial Pursuit. How do you make a life? How do friends and neighbors become transformed into family? This is how. Continue reading
Tag Archives: neighbors
Love Thy Neighbors
It hardly feels adequate to say that my friends and neighbors took over for a few days a couple of weeks ago when the truth is that they swooped in with food, soups, bread, hand sanitizer, and essential oils, not to mention apple-ginger muffins wrapped in handmade dish towels (recipe below). There were many hugs and nods of understanding, for these were the people who knew and appreciated my dad in his last days, stopping by with quarts of homemade chicken noodle soup, doing reiki treatments for the sheer generosity of it, and bringing pans of chicken and rice, my dad’s favorite chopped salad, fish and stewed tomatoes, and more. Nothing escaped their caring eyes. Continue reading
Mom’s Birthday
Today is my mother’s birthday, the first since she passed away almost a year ago. In just a few weeks, we will observe her first yahrtzeit, the first anniversary of her passing. So much has happened this year, and we have all struggled mightily to find our way. When I think about telling her everything that has happened, it feels more like a dystopian novel than the truth. But it’s not all bad. Even though the past few months of winter have been particularly challenging, I am looking forward to returning once more to spending loads of time outdoors. And in view of the rising rates of vaccination, I am certain that next winter will be much better. Yesterday afternoon I sat outside in the sun for an hour with my husband, son-in-law, and daughter even though the temperature was only in the 20’s here in Cleveland. It was freezing, but that did not stop us from enjoying a plate of chocolates — handmade by my son’s friend in Jerusalem — and a bottle of Pavo Real wine, whose label displays a beautiful peacock feather. Mom really loved her peacocks, and her house was filled with their feathers. She would have loved that. Continue reading