Where's Daddy?

Thirty years ago when I was 34 yrs ago, tragedy struck. I lost my father. Although I had two children, but no husband (I'd left him in Texas), I couldn't laugh for two years afterward.

So, on family gatherings, like today's well-attended Mother's Day at my 87-yr-old mom's house, I jokingly said to one of my sisters, Where's Daddy?

"Oh," said my daughter Sarah, "He called earlier."

We laughed.

"Where was he?" I asked, pretending he were still alive.

Silence.

"Where did Daddy used to go?"

We couldn't remember. He was always either at work or home. Or in bed reading. He spent an inordinate amount of time reading in bed, just like I do. (I didn't realize this similarity until right now!)

My mom is still pretending she's gonna move out. She went so far as to say, "If I move into an apartment...."

We know better. She coordinated the whole Mother's Day gathering with family attending from Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey, and of course right here in Ohio. Oops, I mean, Pennsylvania. We grew up in Ohio.

I told my sister Donna I still call 91-year-old aunt Selma once a month to say hello.

Donna thought that was amazing. Well, Donna can certainly give her a call as well. YE 2-8164. I sent her a Mother's Day Card and wrote REALLY LARGE cuz she's got macular. She still can read her romance novels before bed each nite. Her son, Mark, is the artist. When I was manic I threw some of his paintings he gave me into the trash. Like most manic events, I deeply regretted it when it was too late.

I'm insatiably curious about every member of my family and wanna know everything about them. I learned a lot about young Matt today, 25, who's engaged to my niece Jade. He's a twin. His brother knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life while Matt took time off to get to know himself. Gnothi seaton as the Greeks wrote about the Oracle at Delphi.

Ethan will next be playing in Mexico City. He and Sarah took home a load of dishes my mother finally parted with. Guess she can't fit em into her new apartment.

It was great having noise in my house again with 'the kids' here. Look how crowded the bathroom was:



I was worried about feeling lonely when I got home. The sun was setting and I stood watching it at the kitchen window, munching on an unsalted corn chip, and wondering if I was gonna feel lonely which I did not.

I've got all the outdoor foliage to keep me company. It's like a warm loving blanket protecting me, with all the chattering insects inside it and the birds that make their home there. Life is all around us, seen and unseen.

I do prefer the company of folks, though. Here's Sarah and Ethan: