My baby brother turns 57 today. He is my parents' third child. Mom was shocked, rather than thrilled, to hear she was pregnant in the fall of 1958. And for several good reasons. Her husband had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis only a few months earlier. The progress of the disease meant he would soon give up his job. She had just signed a teaching contract to support her family. Then … [Read more...]
May Again: Memories of the Good, the Bad, and the Lovely
It’s May again, my favorite month. Filled with birthdays, spring flowers blooming, cornfields awash in new life, turning the countryside in our state a most delicious green. May is also my least favorite month. Filled with wrenching separations, fading lilac blossoms and tulip petals blowing in the wind, not to be seen for 12 more long months. May, for me, is a tangled mess of … [Read more...]