April 17th, 2021 I’ve been checking in here and there during this process of loss (generating a mutual field of reflection), and I guess I was wondering if it’s okay to check in right now. Cool? Cool. On my way to work today, I realized that yesterday marked six months since my mom exited stageContinue reading “The Waiting Room”
Tag Archives: Loss
Of a Feather
April 8th, 2021 This morning at work, I saw this bird. Well, no, I didn’t initially see it. I heard it. It was repeatedly trying to break its way into the restaurant, flying again and again against the windows and doors, which I found to be bizarre but fascinating. I took this photo and IContinue reading “Of a Feather”
The Last Blockbuster Generation
April 4th, 2021 I watched a movie called The Last Blockbuster on Netflix the other night, and even though it was, on the surface, about the literal last Blockbuster Video in Bend, Oregon, and about how the company itself rose and fell, it ended up being about a lot more. It’s about Sandi, the managerContinue reading “The Last Blockbuster Generation”
Swimming in the Schadenfraude
April 1st, 2021 One of the first TV shows I remember watching with my mom was America’s Funniest Home Videos. This show became an integral part of who I am as a human being, even inspiring the first chapter of my first book, ingeniously titled “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” If you don’t know, there’s aContinue reading “Swimming in the Schadenfraude”
The Ghost of You
March 21st, 2021 I’m used to losing little things all the time. I have to let go of small stuff on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. In less than a year, I lost my job, a parent and my car. I would like to think that my practice of loss would keep me conditioned toContinue reading “The Ghost of You”
Famous Last Blurbs
March 15th, 2021 This is going to be the last substantial post I make for a while, because this is the last post that’s going to make it in the book. It’s weird because some of you will read these words on a screen and some of you will read them on paper, and thisContinue reading “Famous Last Blurbs”
Found in Space
March 9th, 2021 More and more lately, I find myself in space. I’ve been feeling the everyday plaque of stress and anxiety building up faster and more frequently; I know it’s due to a complex constellation of reasons. Not that understanding it helps. To find myself out, I have to place myself outside. Way outside.Continue reading “Found in Space”
new lights
March 4th, 2021 People like to say they appreciate good weather. In my experience, most people only remember to appreciate it when it threatens to change. Late-fall patio guests braving near-freezing temperatures. Grown men wearing short shorts in February. Anything to get just one more day in. When I was driving towards home on theContinue reading “new lights”
Boldly, With Love
February 20th, 2021 There is something about a direct kind of love that is irreplaceable. Last winter, I bought this long-sleeve shirt. One of the first times I wore it was at a convention in Hastings, the very last one my mom came to. She looked at my shirt and told me how beautiful sheContinue reading “Boldly, With Love”
Hunger
February 10th, 2021 A Broaster made me cry today. Let me go back. So I was driving down to Faribault this morning and thinking about an episode of I Love Lucy. In this episode, Lucy and Ethel work as inspectors in a chocolate factory. At first, they’re doing just fine, focusing on each piece asContinue reading “Hunger”
The Den 