“Is that a UPS truck or a Feta truck?”
–Avery Prichard, after seeing a white box truck drive past
Family II
Marley: “CC is basically our sister now. A sister we only see occasionally.”
Avery: “No she is not our sister. What does basically mean?”
Family
Avery: “Is Flash a part of our family now?”
Me: “What do you think?”
Avery: “Yes, he is.”
Slow Food and Fast Food, Love and Pain
Flash, CC, Marley, Avery and I celebrated Thanksgiving early this year—a potluck with friends. Somehow, I ended up cooking my very first turkey for the shindig. After two short years of cooking regular meals and 10 years of vegetarianism only recently ended, it seemed a daunting task. (Mike was such a fantastic cook, I was truly handicapped in the kitchen by the time he died in 2007. I rarely cooked a meal in the 17 years we were together.)
Since returning to my omnivorous roots back in February, I’ve been purchasing local, free range, antibiotic-free meat from a farmer that I met while on a photo assignment years ago. Vegetarian at the time, I made a mental note that if I ever were to purchase meat again, it would be from Charles Ritch of Goose Pond Farm.
And I’ve made good on that promise. Continue reading “Slow Food and Fast Food, Love and Pain”
Things I Never Thought I’d Hear My Five Year Old Say
Hearing his dad’s music on the ipod seemed to open up the topic of death for Avery. Here a few of Avery’s thoughts on the subject:
• “I have a hard time when you aren’t with me. When I stayed at Jaren’s house, I was so scared that you would die and I would come home and we would have to bury you.” Continue reading “Things I Never Thought I’d Hear My Five Year Old Say”
Spirit phones and homegrown tomatoes
Sometimes malaise sneaks up on me, and other times it follows a more predictable path. As cliché as it might sound, today’s bout of blues definitely seems related to the fast-approaching 2nd anniversary of Mike’s death (Sept 13).
I’ve found no good way defend myself against the pain. It comes uninvited.
I am haunted by a past that is gone and a future that no longer exists. It began in the relative quiet of Labor Day after Flash, CC, and her kitten Casey departed from The Okey Dokey Ranch after spending a raucous and rainy but fun Saturday and Sunday here.
This afternoon, Marley went to Tannehill State Park with her friend Bella, which left me alone with Avery. The boy has been quite wild all weekend—a draining surprise after he acted disarmingly docile and charming Friday afternoon after school. By Monday afternoon I was, shall we say, finding it difficult to appreciate Avery being anywhere near me. I really just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. Continue reading “Spirit phones and homegrown tomatoes”
Wishes upon a star
As we sat on Mike’s dad’s balcony overlooking the St. Croix River in Wisconsin, we saw several shooting stars blazing across the night sky. Both kids made wishes. Continue reading “Wishes upon a star”