Hi Darling Ones, When I tell my friends or family that I’m bad at watching TV they laugh politely and then go on to talk about whatever show they are recommending to me. It sounds dumb, but I am bad at it. For example last night I signed up for a free-trial of Showtime so I could watch the Sinead O’Connor documentary “Nothing Compares.” It took me three hours to…
So, Darling Ones, I had a tiny rage meltdown today. When I checked the mail this afternoon there was the usual printed spam, the electric bill, a package containing 300 teeny, tiny phallic-looking stitch markers, and a letter/offer/advertisement addressed to my mom. An advertisement from a monument company addressed to my mom but sent to my house. I went from having a so-so day to incandescent rage in about thirteen…
Hey Darling Ones, Before I get into today’s nonsense, I’d like to point out the header image. It says, BOOBS in numbers. As soon as Sister #4 popped that calculator out of her box of Dad’s crap he hauled home from my parents’ apartment I put in some batteries and did the time-honored tradition. The poor children of today probably don’t get to experience the profound joy of spelling BOOBS…
Dear Darling Ones, I was supposed to go back to work today. I really need to go back to work. I have at least three projects now overdue and one more soon to be overdue. If I do not work I do not get paid. Unfortunately, the dad’s death did not turn me into an obscenely rich heiress. My inheritance was 157 wheat pennies and an old, inoperable Kodamatic instant…
Hi Darling Ones, If you’re an avid consumer of any kind of media — books, tv, movies — you’re familiar with this trope. It’s the one where you learn of someone’s death and you do not cry. For my entire life as a well-known and copious cryer I thought this was some writerly bullshit. Kind of like letting go of a breath you didn’t even know you were holding in…
Well, Darling Ones, My dad died so early on Friday, September 16th it still felt like Thursday night. He died after Sister #4 got here from South Dakota but before Sister #2 arrived from Oregon. Before he died, my dad agreed to see us, finally giving up the grudge he had been holding onto since June. So, Sister #4 got to say goodbye and make peace with him. We are…
Well, Darling Ones, It seems I’m going to blog my way through this time as my dad lays dying. I really need to document my existence right now and I do not have the mental or emotional capacity to examine the reasons at the moment. Jodi Ann Chromey, you might be thinking, why are you not spending every remaining moment you have left with your dad? I can’t and I…
Uffda, Darling Ones, Today was rough. As I mentioned yesterday, telling my clients about my dad being in hospice weighed heavily on my mind. Since I had a pre-scheduled call with a client, I ripped the Band-Aid off with her. I only cried a little, mostly because she called me, “a force of joy in the world.” Hell, I’m crying again typing it. She was super understanding and gently encouraged…
Well, Darling Ones, My dad started hospice care over the weekend. His death is imminent and they’re keeping him comfortable until it arrives. This sucks. Do you want me to list all the ways this sucks? It’s a long list. Most of the ways are complicated and hard to explain. Families are complicated and hard to explain. All this grows exponentially as death hovers and dysfunction comes home to roost….
Hey Darling Ones, I get super bitter whenever I follow a recipe to the letter and it turns out mediocre to bad. Usually when the food I make turns out not-so-great I blame my own hubris. I like to read half a recipe and then use the knowledge I’ve gained from watching every season of Top Chef multiple times to think I know what I’m doing. This works out a…
