we said goodbye to our sweet boone on one of the hottest days of the summer so far. the car read 93 and we drove to the vet's office with the ac blasting and all four windows down. in the backseat, kb stroked boone's velveteen ears and he laid with his head on her lap, … Continue reading eulogy & love letter for boone
the sound and the fury
After 10 pm the house quiets down. My father lays in his bed, sometimes twitching, sometimes sleeping, sometimes both. The anti-bed sore air mattress huffs and puffs beneath him. Its symphony is punctuated by the sound of my mother’s phone. She is playing Candy Crush, or Wordscapes, or Online Poker on one of her three … Continue reading the sound and the fury
love letter for my dad’s 74th year
2018 has been hard. historically, the lenten season is not my best time of year. perhaps this is a holdover from catholicism-- for years fasting hid the ways i punished myself for my excess, most readily understood, though not exclusively, through my fatness. but winter is its own kind of denial: short days punctuated by … Continue reading love letter for my dad’s 74th year
receiving memory
in the early spring kb and i get a bee in our bonnet and can’t wait to start cleaning out the basement. we live in an old house with a fine film of dirt across everything, the kind that you can’t remove except with a sander. the hardwood peels up, some spots are rubbed raw. … Continue reading receiving memory
in the wake
i was talking to my father recently and he asked me when i was going to finish my Ph.D. of course i finished it almost two years ago now; he came to my dissertation defense, cried when my committee announced me as "doctor," held me and congratulated me after. on my graduation day he sat in … Continue reading in the wake
