My parents raised three children who were only nineteen months apart. For the twins and me, it was wonderful. We had sibs close to our own age to play with. There were numberless games of Monopoly and Life during the long summers in the fifties.
My folks were like everyone else's folks. Or so I thought. They were hardworking, honest, and devoted to their family. They loved me and wanted the best for me.
You can tell from this picture just how much they loved us.
I learned later that not everyone's family was as perfect as mine. I have been so blessed.
Getting back into my normal routine has been hard. Due to a variety of circumstances, I spent about a month down South in August. It was a wrenching experience to watch Dad go through difficult surgery. I stayed with him and Momma for a few days after the surgery and then returned home to Pennsylvania. He was doing great when I left.
He died in the hospital three days after I had returned home, so it was back to Shreveport for the funeral.
I learned a whole lot about myself during the experience. Some of the things I learned were painful. All were useful. I learned that I will melt down after twenty hours of no sleep. I also learned I have pretty good stamina when it's needed. I learned just how much harder I need to work at kindness. The people we dealt with were so gracious and lovely in Shreveport. Their kindness meant so much.
I got an even deeper appreciation of my adult children. I knew my husband would be a great emotional support. But I was overwhelmed at how much support I got from my children as well.
The saddest thing of all was to see how lost my mom is without my dad. It's great when people are married for over sixty years. But it's also disaster when one of them leaves the other behind.
My writing has been at a standstill ever since. I keep writing for the newspaper, but the other writing just seems to be on hold. I am hoping that any day now, I will get excited again and start to write book proposals and edit my novel.
For now, my desk and some of my closets are getting cleaned out.
Maybe these few thoughts will help me move on and write about what I love.
