Grandma Passes AwayGFriday, October 16th, 2015 Oh, grandma. I've missed you ever since you had those strokes a few years ago, and I miss you even more now that you're gone. I miss the way you'd call and casually ask in your New Yorkish accent, "Wanna godda lunch, Dolly?" I'd say yes, and you'd ...
I'll be Seeing YouGThursday, July 2nd, 2015 Back in May, very shortly after returning from Roatan, my parents and brother came to visit, bringing with them my 85 year old grandfather. Though he didn't want to be parted from my grandma Marilyn, whom he visited every day at the nursing home, h...
Grandma Jeanne, Forever Loved: Part ThreeGSaturday, September 20th, 2014 Grandma, though I was at your funeral as Pastor Jeremy talked about the nine "fruits of the spirit" and how you "nailed all of 'em;" though I was there when your body was buried in the cemetery under a spray of yellow and orange roses; though I wep...
Grandma Jeanne, Forever Loved: Part TwoGFriday, September 19th, 2014 Feeling tired but accomplished, Tyler and I hit the road to Illinois for the funeral, arriving at 5:00AM the morning of the visitation. When we rolled out of the hotel bed around lunchtime, we greeted everyone with hugs, and slipped into the comfor...
Grandma Jeanne, Forever Loved: Part OneGFriday, September 12th, 2014 When I touched down in Albany, just a few hours after I said goodbye to my grandmother, I received an email from my mom saying that she had taken a turn for the worse. In the week that followed, she was in hospice care at her apartment. With my par...
Passing AwayGMonday, February 20th, 2012 We recently received a phone call that my grandfather (my mother's father) passed away. His death did not come as a surprise, for he's been ready to go for quite some time now. The news came with a mixture of sadness and a bit of relief—we're all...
Life & DeathPGWednesday, February 2nd, 2011 Yesterday, just as we arrived off the boat from Nong Kiaw, we watched wide-eyed as three little piglets were being slaughtered. They lay on the ground, their throats slit, warm blood pooling rapidly into the dirt. It was hard to watch the little ...
Full of SurprisesGWednesday, October 14th, 2009 We've had our share of interesting rodent encounters on the road but this morning easily topped them all. While groping around for my shoes at 4am to go to the bathroom I felt something… furry? A few months ago this might well have scared the bej...
