The Magic Of The Face

As we age, we are often presented with situations that will test us, will push us, and will make us stand up, or fall. The last two weeks have forced me to do some of this and be the victim of some of it, mostly because of the memory of the man who raised me. I don't misuse the word raised. In every sense of the word, my father did just that. I was fortunate enough to have him in my day to day life from a much earlier period in my life than my siblings and that had a profound effect on the woman I am today. I know many people would say this same thing, I just wonder if their reasons would be the same. My father was my parent, my teacher, my warden, my hero, my friend. Mostly my friend even when I didn't feel that way. He came from Czechoslovakia on a boat to escape war torn Europe as a young boy of 8. He didn't speak English. His parents, his sister and he were brought over by family. Sounds nice, right? Wrong. They were brought over as manual labor. They worked lo...

Howdy all (or few...) it has been a while. Work has been so crazy for the last several months that it hasn't left a whole lot of room for Life. Another reason for the long delay is that, while it is always fun to relate the latest insanity perpetrated by the 'Rent, the reality is my Mother is dying. I know I have said this in the past. But lately the decline has become more evident daily and it is harder and harder to pretend that this is a "some time down the road" thing. In light of that fact, making fun of her in print seems petty and mean spirited. I am many things but mean spirited is not one of my finer qualities. This is not to say I won't document some epic stupidity of hers should the need arise, but most likely we are going to be quiet for a while. I feel like I need to figure out how to deal with this new reality that I am facing. I never in a million years thought I would be my mother's end of life care taker, nor did I think I would be deal...