Here’s the last installment, folks. Need to get up to speed? Check out Part One and Part Two. Once I graduated high school and married Charlie, I had a decision to make. I mean, I loved my job at the A&P, but shouldn’t I want more outta life? I’ve always been good with numbers, so I decided to get an Accounting Certificate at the Community College in Bangor. Couldn’t go full time, of course. Charlie and me were just starting out and we couldn’t swing that. So, I continued on at the A&P and took courses at night. It was slow and tough at times, but I stuck it out. About halfway through, I realized …
After a certain age, your body changes. You and I know this to be true. The fat in your butt inches it’s way ‘round your stomach. That extra plumpness that was keeping your breast perky has headed south for the duration, taking up permanent residence on your inner thighs. Your hair migrates from where you want it to someplace else, where you don’t. Then there’s the feet. Women, like me, tend to get bunions caused by shoes that are too tight, too narrow or too high. In short, they’re cute, but impractical. Hey, you have to suffer to be beautiful, right? Men get what Charlie and his friends call “old man feet.” I don’t even …
I was looking through old photos, and I found this one of me getting ready to celebrate my fourth birthday. Looks like quite a party, huh? There are little cartoon characters on the tablecloth and the ever popular pointy hats. And I’m dressed to the nines, of course. Some things never change. I still like dressing up, but I’ve become more of a tiara and boa kind a gal. And I like celebrating my birthday the entire month of May. One day’s just not enough! Besides, I gotta pace myself. Now me and my friends Celeste, Rita, Betty, Dot and Shirley (aka, the Women Who Run With the Moose) get together once a week for …
Yesterday, I made a batch of my Grandmother’s molasses cookies, and boy, they sure look beautiful, if I do say so myself. Just like I remember. I have Grammy’s recipe written in her shaky hand on white (now yellow) lined paper. The thing even has Grammy’s molasses stains on it. My mother had it laminated for me years ago, and I’ve used it so much it’s starting to separate along the edges. The thing I like most about this recipe is that in the margin at the top of the page, over “Old Fashioned Drop Molasses Cookies,” my Grandmother has written, “My best.” Underlined, with a period, not an exclamation mark. It was a truth …
Wow! Last week, the weather was wacky to the max! Mid-week we got a “dusting” of snow that ended up being about three inches. It was that wet kind of snow that sticks to all the trees and shrubs and makes the world look magical. I took a walk the morning after our little storm. The real feel temps were hovering around 23 degrees, but the sun was shining and the world looked so bright and clear, with a sky the most intense shade of blue. A couple hours later, the trees were bare again. The ice had melted off the cars, and there was this steady drip, drip, drip from the roof as the …
On February 28, Scamp turned fourteen! Honestly, last November, when our vet told us he had a tumor on his spleen, I wondered if he’d make it past Christmas. But, darn, if he’s still hanging in there! I give him a half a pill a day. It’s an appetite stimulant, anti-naussea type thing. Without that, I don’t think he’d be eating much at all. But right now, he’s chowing down pretty good. We blast Scamp with love and give him all the treats he wants, of course. He’s earned it. Most importantly, he doesn’t seem to be in any pain. That would be a deal breaker. Scamp doesn’t run to the door when we come …
Charlie and me are at the age where we spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter. We walk into a room and think, Now, what am I here after? (Tommy’s aunt told me that one, and boy, ain’t it the truth!) If you find yourself always losing things, routine is your friend. It’s simple. Choose a place where something is going to live, say your car keys, and always return the thing in question to it’s home base. That way, it’ll always be there when you need it. Easier said than done, right? Your cell phone rings as you’re wrestling grocery bags from the car into the house. You put everything on the …
I lot of my friends are starting to retire. Or talking about retirement, weighing their options. Charlie is, too. God knows, he’s put in his time in down to the mill. Worked his way up to foreman. Survived all them pink slips as operations got smaller and smaller. Man, it’s been stressful, the not knowing. Not just for Charlie, but for all of Mahoosuc Mills, too. Used to be, the paper mill was the best job in town. Hard work, sure, but good, steady pay and benefits, and secure. Not anymore. Anyhoo, Charlie will be 65 next month, so, yeah, we’ve been talking ‘bout it. It would be great to see Charlie have more time …
I went to see my Dad the other day. Afterwards, my sister Irene texted me. She asked, “How’s the old guy?” I answered, “Do you mean our dad, my husband, or the dog?” I told Charlie what I said, and he didn’t think my snappy remark was as funny as Irene and me did. Actually, Dad is in a little bounce right now. I think they must have gotten his blood sugar more under control. All of a sudden, he’s talking in complete sentences and is a little more with it. He’s even laughing a bit. Sure, Dad still thinks the trellis is a truck, and a typical visit is basically the same conversation three …
Saturday afternoon, I was out walking Scamp around the neighborhood when I heard this little girl shriek with delight. I turned my head, like you do, and that’s when I saw it: a young Dad, holding his daughter over his head, helping her fly. And just like that, I was her, that little girl, looking down at my strong Dad, laughing eyes filled with love. Then, in a blink of an eye, I remembered back to that morning, me sitting with my dad, now a confused old man with sad eyes. I’m holding his hand, and he’s saying, “I don’t know. I just don’t know what’s going on.” And I’m thinking, Neither do I Dad. …
