A Sunny Day August 10th, 2013 @ 10:23 pm PDT
I spent a half-dozen painful hours on the phone exactly one year ago tonight. My mom had been rushed to the emergency room and I was desperate for answers. The hospital had told me she was fine; she had a urinary tract infection which was causing acute temporary dementia, but they’d given her some antibiotics and sent her back to the assisted living facility and told me not to worry. I’d been worrying non-stop for months and wasn’t about to stop then.
Runaway July 12th, 2013 @ 10:32 pm PDT
One of my favorite memories of my mom — of my entire childhood, actually — is singing Runaway by Del Shannon in the car with her and my little sister while driving to St. Paul’s Catholic elementary school. I love that song. She loved that song. She loved singing that song. Mom loved music. And […]
The Horizon Is a Beltway May 10th, 2013 @ 8:42 am PDT
On losing my mother
It Ought to Be Easier April 29th, 2013 @ 7:08 am PDT
It’s really hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that Tim might not make it in the NFL. It seems absurd to me. When my alarm rang at six this morning, there was a text waiting for me that read, “Heard Tebow was cut from NPR before ESPN.” My first thought was […]
Mall Parking Lots / on Holidays April 19th, 2013 @ 9:39 pm PDT
I knocked out a quick four miles after watching all the drama in Boston on Friday night. I spent most of the run thinking about Miranda rights and terrorism and democracy. And when I wasn’t thinking about those things I was thinking about how much I wished I could talk to my mom about those […]
Eight April 7th, 2013 @ 6:27 am PDT
Today makes it eight months since my mom died. She died on August 12th. I was sitting in the car in the parking lot of Centinela Feed on Pico, waiting with my son for my wife to get some cat food, when my phone rang. A nurse at Woodland Terrace named Ida Alvis — a […]
One More Holiday I Will Not Celebrate March 25th, 2013 @ 10:57 pm PDT
My mom loved Easter. She had a fondness for Cadbury eggs, even though — if I remember correctly — she almost never ate one because they upset her stomach terribly. When we were very, very young she used to play three or four songs on her guitar and we’d all sing along. I know probably […]
Six Months February 12th, 2013 @ 6:00 am PST
Today marks the six month anniversary of my mother’s death. She died on Sunday, August 12, 2012. Not every month is the same length, though, of course. And should I consider “a month” to be “every four Sundays” or simply “the next 12th on the calendar”? It’s the sort of question she would call to […]
Eve December 24th, 2012 @ 8:15 am PST
On family traditions
Are You OK? October 30th, 2012 @ 7:25 pm PDT
Mom Just Called To Make Sure You're Not Under That Dangling Crane http://t.co/R6ctjwx9 #Sandy — The Onion (@TheOnion) October 30, 2012 Leave it to The Onion. I’m sure everyone can relate to this in some way, but my mom was particularly neurotic about this sort of thing. (She died just a few weeks ago, in […]
