Dear old Dad. And Mom. And some books.
So, last week I went to visit my Dad in Oregon from Wed-Sat, and my mom for a bare 15-hour overnight visit, half of which was spent sleeping.
Short version: My parents are both well and content, so that's good.
Long version: My dad is definitely on a slow downward spiral, but emphasis on slow. At least for now. Since January, I feel like his memory and comprehension have gotten a little worse, but he's still able to completely take care of his own immediate needs (food, clothing, etc) at home. There was a form he had to fill out, one of those "please demonstrate to us that you're still alive so we'll continue to maintain your account" things for some sort of life insurance or investment account has has in Holland, and he kept getting confused by things like, "Is the info in Box A correct?" given that Boxes A-C (the only ones in question) were on a different page. I feel like in January he would have followed along a little bit better. Also, when I took him on his errands, he just sat passively while I dealt with ... whatever ... with a somewhat lost or dazed expression, like he had no idea why he was here or what was going on, until I prodded him for something. We went to the bank (he said he didn't want to touch the cash stash in his closet and wanted some additional cash), the doctor's office (more on that in a sec) and the grocery store. So, like, if I stepped away from him briefly in the store to grab something in another aisle (it's a small Safeway, but still - I was out of sight for only a minute), I would come back to find him standing there, looking around him in a semi lost fashion.
(Humorous side note: I think I've mentioned that my dad has always hated cheese? Ironic for a Dutchman, no? But anyway, always hated the stuff. But now that he's older and his cognition is off, he's not always noticing what has cheese in it. Becca (the neighbor who gets his groceries) once accidentally bought him a pack of cheese-cracker sandwiches, instead of the PB-cracker ones she *meant* to get, and he cheerfully ate them. Anyway, on this trip, he picked out a bag of "flaming hot" Doritos, which I added to the cart, and he enjoyed them thoroughly at home. I hadn't thought about it in that moment that I bought them but, duh, Doritos are cheesy. Because he IS still aware that he supposedly hates cheese - when he was looking at some cheddar Ritz cracker chip things, I pointed out the word "cheddar" and he immediately put it back with distaste.)
As for the doctor's office: I had taken him in for a check-up during my first visit (the unexpected one, right after Christmas) to make sure not only of his basic health, but also to have the doctor evaluate him and see if he could stay put in his house or not. At the time, there was a $20 copay, which I paid, and insurance covered almost all the rest. Almost. The doctor's office had been billing him for the remaining $5 since February, with two polite notes and two pink-hued warning notes, none of which, of course, my father had dealt with (in fact, I'm not even sure he had opened them - and if he had, he wouldn't have had the faintest idea what appointment they were billing him for). When I called the main office, they looked it up and said they'd eventually written it off as bad debt, but said it was fine to go ahead and pay it, as long as I brought the paper bills in so they could see what the initial charge had been for (since it was no longer on his account), so that's what we did the next day - went to the local office where he'd had the appointment, and paid it. (Dad: "I don't have any cash on me." Me: "Yes, you do - we just went to the bank. It's in your shirt pocket."). I also had to tell him several times during this process why we were going to/at the office. And although we had his favorite teller at the bank, I don't think he recognized her.
Then there was the matter of his TV. He used to watch TV a fair amount, at least in the winter, and especially in the evenings. The first night I was there: no TV. When I asked why, he said it didn't work. And among the non-dealt-with mail I'd found, I'd encountered several notes from the DishTV people saying that he would need a (free) equipment upgrade or he might lose channels so I assumed that was the problem. The next day, I called to see about getting him that upgrade. The customer service lady in India (:-P) said not everyone needed the upgrade right away, and wanted to know what channels he was missing and/or what error messages he was getting. I admitted I didn't know, so I had my dad turn the TV on. Nothing happened. This made me suspicious - it no longer seemed like the Dish problem. The lady made the standard suggestion: unplug it and plug it back in. And lo and behold: I discovered his power strip had been unplugged behind the TV when he'd plugged something else in. *bangs head*. Oh, look who's a tech support nightmare! Everything works fine WHEN IT'S PLUGGED IN. I apologized to the lady in India for taking her time.
Although his signal was cutting in and out a little, especially on my last night - I suspect he'll need that upgrade eventually, and I took the info home with me (I think) so I can arrange it from here if necessary. But in order to do that, I'll need to work with either Becca or the next door neighbors, so they can come along to the appointment, or my father will simply say he has no idea why the repairman is there and will shut the door in his face. Same goes for the chimney cleaner - I'm 95% sure he needs it, as his wood stove was sending smoke back into the living room whenever the door was opened or cracked, but my dad of course said it was fine when I mentioned this. Of course, he doesn't usually burn anything long enough to risk asphyxiation, but still - probably not a bad idea to have it done.
So, anyway - slow slide downward, but still able to function under the current arrangement. Although I've decided that I need to visit him once a year around his birthday (Mar 28), because that way any remaining tax forms that don't come to me (they ALL went to him last year because by the time we were changing addresses, it was too late for last year's tax forms, as they'd already been in process, and I haven't been able to change everything) can be dealt with BEFORE the tax deadline. I did - eventually - find all the missing tax documents for 2018, as well as one from 2017, and had them mailed to the tax preparer. She lives in town, 2 blocks from the post office, but she'd been unfortunately out of town the week I was there, so I couldn't bring them in person. By spending the nearly $8 on postage, at least the post office could add it to her held mail until she comes back.
Then there was the matter of the footwear. This has absolutely nothing to do with his cognition and everything to do with his disinterest in throwing anything out if there's the slightest chance it's still usable. So, I bought him an inexpensive pair of slippers a couple of years ago, as his previous ones were garbage, and he DID - miraculously - wear them. But they, too, are now garbage - giant holes in the heel of the soles. And the socks he's wearing have corresponding giant holes in the heel as well. Last spring, Becca bought him a new pair of slippers - red! - at end-of-season clearance sales, but he set them aside. And I don't know where. I searched the whole damn house, as opportunity presented itself - drawers, closets, cabinets, the garage, under the beds - EVERYWHERE. Red slippers should stand out! But no slippers. Nor was there a sign of the scarf-and-hat set I'd bought him in January, to replace the beat-up trucker cap and actual bits of undershirt rags he wraps around his neck as his "scarf". (When I gave it to him he said he didn't need it then and was going to set it aside for "when it got cold." Let me remind you that it was JANUARY.) I have absolutely no idea where he'd put either item and, of course, neither does he - not that he remembered ever having been given them in the first place. But when I mentioned he'd been given a pair of red slippers, he just shook his head and said he didn't know what he might have done with them. I asked if he would wear new slippers if I went out to get him some that day, but it was clear he wasn't interested. "I'm in the end stage of my life and I don't need anything" - Ok, dad, but it's ok to be comfortable in the end stage of your life!! And it's not like I was offering to get him expensive slippers! As for the socks: when I brought him his sneakers the following day because we were going to do some stuff outside, I also brought him a pair of socks from his drawer - his drawer being FULL of perfectly decent socks, both worn-but-non-holey, and brank-spankin' new in package. But, nope, he kept the holey ones on. So, that's really frustrating, although it's more my dad just being my dad, and not my dad losing his brain function.
Dealing with him in general is frustrating because no matter what I do, it's not going to help (because he's stubborn or because his brain no longer works well) and he's not going to remember it. Should I even have conversations with him that he's not going to remember? Should I write him helpful reminder notes he's not going to see? His eyes are so used to training in certain directions, he's not necessarily noticing extra notes. Like - he had a birthday card from my FIL here in NJ, and he was baffled about who R____ F____ was. I told him it was my FIL, and my dad dutifully wrote on the envelope "R.F. is Debbie's father in law". And then the next day, he was again passing the card/envelope on the coffee table, and shaking his head ruefully, wondering what he should do about this card, given that he didn't know who it was. I pointed out that he'd written it down RIGHT THERE, and then suddenly, he focused on that note, and ta-da! could see who it was. But he was so used to it NOT being there, the note was almost useless. Likewise, he wasn't usually remembering that the TV was now "fixed" so when I left, I taped a note to the corner of the screen and one on the remote that said, "Yes! The TV works now!" but I'm sure he won't see the note on the TV, and after his first use of the remote, he'll remove that note and will then forget it again.
But it was still good to see him, and he was very happy to see me. As was my mom, despite the short visit. She had made dinner, I helped her with some minor projects, and I was sent on my way with a loaf of Boudin's sourdough bread (which we devoured in less than three days, lol.)
(As for the indoor temps at my dad's house - it wasn't too bad, really. It was 55F/12.75C when I arrived, and although it did get down to about 48F/8.9C at night the first two nights, the third night it stayed in the 50s which meant I was actually TOO WARM for the way I normally bundle up at night, and it would get to maybe 62F/16.7C during the day because it was really nice outside in the afternoons during my visit. Compared to January it was perfectly tolerable and I ended up having hauled along my jacket for nothing.)
I did discover a whole bunch of my dad's art I had never seen before (art he didn't consider good enough for the local art show he'd been part of in 2007), and ended up taking a zillion photos to show family here at home. I could literally have an entire house of JUST my dad's art on the walls.
The actual travel logistics of my flight were fine; everything was more or less on time. My westbound flight had an aircraft change at the last minute, from a 3-3 seat configuration to a much larger 2-3-2 configuration, which meant some people's seating assignments changed. Because the new plane was larger, it wasn't as full as it would have been under the original assignment. I lost my middle-seat (ie between aisle and window) and was placed in the center-3 section, which normally I would hate but I had that entire section to myself and was able to stretch out when I wanted, so that was nice. And United had some surprisingly good entertainment options for the seat-back screens.
While I was on my trip I finished three books (only one of which I started during the trip as well).
Becoming Dr. Seuss by Brian Jay Jones: A somewhat long but mostly interesting biography about Dr. Seuss's life, from his childhood to his death, through the periods of lackluster academics, his "Henry, Quick, the Flit!" ad campaign, role producing US propaganda in WWII, his slow start into children's books, and the book that catapulted him into fame (The Cat in the Hat). MiniPlu gave this book to me for my birthday, a completely independent choice of hers (not off a wishlist) and thus greatly appreciated.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Birthday gift. OMG, it absolutely deserves its accolades. I LOVED IT. I thought the prose was beautiful, and the characters interesting. The non-linear timeline was sometimes confusing - I sometimes had to flip back and forth to various chapters to see if this chapter came before or after that chapter, etc. And I also had to go back to Poppet's vision of "the nice lady" they were going to put in the ground to see if that was, indeed, Tara or someone else. It took longer than I expected for Marco and Celia to fall in love, and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending - about them BOTH essentially "dying" - or not? - and becoming part of the circus. I guess I would have preferred for them to find some magical way out of the binding, that perhaps Celia could "die" and then heal herself and that would satisfy the requirements? Anyway - some solution that would have allowed them to live "ordinary" lives. I felt like the ending with Bailey came rather abruptly. Why did he have to be the one to become the heart of the circus? Why not one of the other Reveurs? Or other circus performers? Why not the twins themselves? So, yes, I wasn't quite as thrilled by the ending, but I otherwise really did adore this story and am very happy I read it.
Deosil by Jordan L. Hawk. The last book in Whyborne & Griffin's series. I had to look up the title's meaning, given that all the other books in the series were recognizable words and/or locations. Turns out - and I guess some of you might know this already - Deosil means "clockwise," just as Widdershins (the title of Book 1) means "counter-clockwise" (which I DID know). Nice full circle there. As for the story: It was, in a lot of ways, a good way to culminate all the plot points of the previous books. In other ways, it was a little too fanciful for me. I get that despots like having cooperative followers, but the idea that the Masters wanted "Perfect" beings who have absolutely no real mind of their own anymore, what's the point? How satisfying is that, really, to have reign over a world full of ants? Would they have let Mrs. Creigh survive un-Perfected? Why?
I also feel that, no matter how much the town of Widdershins has endured in the past five years, the idea that they would uniformly and suddenly be completely accepting of same-sex couples (including one cross-species same-sex couple) didn't feel very realistic for the time. I mean, it was sweet, and I want W&G to be happy, but it didn't feel real. (Side note: Where will Maggie and Persephone live? How much time will they spend together, given that Persephone is chief and is, therefore, needed below the waves on a regular basis?)
There were some emotional moments in the story, which nearly had me tearing up (a rarity), particularly when Whyborne spoke to Perfect!Griffin about how he loves all Griffin's imperfections. And about how the Maelstrom wanted to experience life, in all its highs and lows and gritty glory. And, of course, it was emotional just to finish the series, and to know that there wouldn't be any more after this. I would cheerfully have read them for years more. Pity it's such a small fandom, so it's not like I can drown my sorrows in a pile of fanfic, like we all could after HP ended.
I am - story of my life - once again behind on LJ/DW, having not had time to look at it since last Tues. Let me know if I've missed some big events/illnesses/work stuff/travel in your life!
Short version: My parents are both well and content, so that's good.
Long version: My dad is definitely on a slow downward spiral, but emphasis on slow. At least for now. Since January, I feel like his memory and comprehension have gotten a little worse, but he's still able to completely take care of his own immediate needs (food, clothing, etc) at home. There was a form he had to fill out, one of those "please demonstrate to us that you're still alive so we'll continue to maintain your account" things for some sort of life insurance or investment account has has in Holland, and he kept getting confused by things like, "Is the info in Box A correct?" given that Boxes A-C (the only ones in question) were on a different page. I feel like in January he would have followed along a little bit better. Also, when I took him on his errands, he just sat passively while I dealt with ... whatever ... with a somewhat lost or dazed expression, like he had no idea why he was here or what was going on, until I prodded him for something. We went to the bank (he said he didn't want to touch the cash stash in his closet and wanted some additional cash), the doctor's office (more on that in a sec) and the grocery store. So, like, if I stepped away from him briefly in the store to grab something in another aisle (it's a small Safeway, but still - I was out of sight for only a minute), I would come back to find him standing there, looking around him in a semi lost fashion.
(Humorous side note: I think I've mentioned that my dad has always hated cheese? Ironic for a Dutchman, no? But anyway, always hated the stuff. But now that he's older and his cognition is off, he's not always noticing what has cheese in it. Becca (the neighbor who gets his groceries) once accidentally bought him a pack of cheese-cracker sandwiches, instead of the PB-cracker ones she *meant* to get, and he cheerfully ate them. Anyway, on this trip, he picked out a bag of "flaming hot" Doritos, which I added to the cart, and he enjoyed them thoroughly at home. I hadn't thought about it in that moment that I bought them but, duh, Doritos are cheesy. Because he IS still aware that he supposedly hates cheese - when he was looking at some cheddar Ritz cracker chip things, I pointed out the word "cheddar" and he immediately put it back with distaste.)
As for the doctor's office: I had taken him in for a check-up during my first visit (the unexpected one, right after Christmas) to make sure not only of his basic health, but also to have the doctor evaluate him and see if he could stay put in his house or not. At the time, there was a $20 copay, which I paid, and insurance covered almost all the rest. Almost. The doctor's office had been billing him for the remaining $5 since February, with two polite notes and two pink-hued warning notes, none of which, of course, my father had dealt with (in fact, I'm not even sure he had opened them - and if he had, he wouldn't have had the faintest idea what appointment they were billing him for). When I called the main office, they looked it up and said they'd eventually written it off as bad debt, but said it was fine to go ahead and pay it, as long as I brought the paper bills in so they could see what the initial charge had been for (since it was no longer on his account), so that's what we did the next day - went to the local office where he'd had the appointment, and paid it. (Dad: "I don't have any cash on me." Me: "Yes, you do - we just went to the bank. It's in your shirt pocket."). I also had to tell him several times during this process why we were going to/at the office. And although we had his favorite teller at the bank, I don't think he recognized her.
Then there was the matter of his TV. He used to watch TV a fair amount, at least in the winter, and especially in the evenings. The first night I was there: no TV. When I asked why, he said it didn't work. And among the non-dealt-with mail I'd found, I'd encountered several notes from the DishTV people saying that he would need a (free) equipment upgrade or he might lose channels so I assumed that was the problem. The next day, I called to see about getting him that upgrade. The customer service lady in India (:-P) said not everyone needed the upgrade right away, and wanted to know what channels he was missing and/or what error messages he was getting. I admitted I didn't know, so I had my dad turn the TV on. Nothing happened. This made me suspicious - it no longer seemed like the Dish problem. The lady made the standard suggestion: unplug it and plug it back in. And lo and behold: I discovered his power strip had been unplugged behind the TV when he'd plugged something else in. *bangs head*. Oh, look who's a tech support nightmare! Everything works fine WHEN IT'S PLUGGED IN. I apologized to the lady in India for taking her time.
Although his signal was cutting in and out a little, especially on my last night - I suspect he'll need that upgrade eventually, and I took the info home with me (I think) so I can arrange it from here if necessary. But in order to do that, I'll need to work with either Becca or the next door neighbors, so they can come along to the appointment, or my father will simply say he has no idea why the repairman is there and will shut the door in his face. Same goes for the chimney cleaner - I'm 95% sure he needs it, as his wood stove was sending smoke back into the living room whenever the door was opened or cracked, but my dad of course said it was fine when I mentioned this. Of course, he doesn't usually burn anything long enough to risk asphyxiation, but still - probably not a bad idea to have it done.
So, anyway - slow slide downward, but still able to function under the current arrangement. Although I've decided that I need to visit him once a year around his birthday (Mar 28), because that way any remaining tax forms that don't come to me (they ALL went to him last year because by the time we were changing addresses, it was too late for last year's tax forms, as they'd already been in process, and I haven't been able to change everything) can be dealt with BEFORE the tax deadline. I did - eventually - find all the missing tax documents for 2018, as well as one from 2017, and had them mailed to the tax preparer. She lives in town, 2 blocks from the post office, but she'd been unfortunately out of town the week I was there, so I couldn't bring them in person. By spending the nearly $8 on postage, at least the post office could add it to her held mail until she comes back.
Then there was the matter of the footwear. This has absolutely nothing to do with his cognition and everything to do with his disinterest in throwing anything out if there's the slightest chance it's still usable. So, I bought him an inexpensive pair of slippers a couple of years ago, as his previous ones were garbage, and he DID - miraculously - wear them. But they, too, are now garbage - giant holes in the heel of the soles. And the socks he's wearing have corresponding giant holes in the heel as well. Last spring, Becca bought him a new pair of slippers - red! - at end-of-season clearance sales, but he set them aside. And I don't know where. I searched the whole damn house, as opportunity presented itself - drawers, closets, cabinets, the garage, under the beds - EVERYWHERE. Red slippers should stand out! But no slippers. Nor was there a sign of the scarf-and-hat set I'd bought him in January, to replace the beat-up trucker cap and actual bits of undershirt rags he wraps around his neck as his "scarf". (When I gave it to him he said he didn't need it then and was going to set it aside for "when it got cold." Let me remind you that it was JANUARY.) I have absolutely no idea where he'd put either item and, of course, neither does he - not that he remembered ever having been given them in the first place. But when I mentioned he'd been given a pair of red slippers, he just shook his head and said he didn't know what he might have done with them. I asked if he would wear new slippers if I went out to get him some that day, but it was clear he wasn't interested. "I'm in the end stage of my life and I don't need anything" - Ok, dad, but it's ok to be comfortable in the end stage of your life!! And it's not like I was offering to get him expensive slippers! As for the socks: when I brought him his sneakers the following day because we were going to do some stuff outside, I also brought him a pair of socks from his drawer - his drawer being FULL of perfectly decent socks, both worn-but-non-holey, and brank-spankin' new in package. But, nope, he kept the holey ones on. So, that's really frustrating, although it's more my dad just being my dad, and not my dad losing his brain function.
Dealing with him in general is frustrating because no matter what I do, it's not going to help (because he's stubborn or because his brain no longer works well) and he's not going to remember it. Should I even have conversations with him that he's not going to remember? Should I write him helpful reminder notes he's not going to see? His eyes are so used to training in certain directions, he's not necessarily noticing extra notes. Like - he had a birthday card from my FIL here in NJ, and he was baffled about who R____ F____ was. I told him it was my FIL, and my dad dutifully wrote on the envelope "R.F. is Debbie's father in law". And then the next day, he was again passing the card/envelope on the coffee table, and shaking his head ruefully, wondering what he should do about this card, given that he didn't know who it was. I pointed out that he'd written it down RIGHT THERE, and then suddenly, he focused on that note, and ta-da! could see who it was. But he was so used to it NOT being there, the note was almost useless. Likewise, he wasn't usually remembering that the TV was now "fixed" so when I left, I taped a note to the corner of the screen and one on the remote that said, "Yes! The TV works now!" but I'm sure he won't see the note on the TV, and after his first use of the remote, he'll remove that note and will then forget it again.
But it was still good to see him, and he was very happy to see me. As was my mom, despite the short visit. She had made dinner, I helped her with some minor projects, and I was sent on my way with a loaf of Boudin's sourdough bread (which we devoured in less than three days, lol.)
(As for the indoor temps at my dad's house - it wasn't too bad, really. It was 55F/12.75C when I arrived, and although it did get down to about 48F/8.9C at night the first two nights, the third night it stayed in the 50s which meant I was actually TOO WARM for the way I normally bundle up at night, and it would get to maybe 62F/16.7C during the day because it was really nice outside in the afternoons during my visit. Compared to January it was perfectly tolerable and I ended up having hauled along my jacket for nothing.)
I did discover a whole bunch of my dad's art I had never seen before (art he didn't consider good enough for the local art show he'd been part of in 2007), and ended up taking a zillion photos to show family here at home. I could literally have an entire house of JUST my dad's art on the walls.
The actual travel logistics of my flight were fine; everything was more or less on time. My westbound flight had an aircraft change at the last minute, from a 3-3 seat configuration to a much larger 2-3-2 configuration, which meant some people's seating assignments changed. Because the new plane was larger, it wasn't as full as it would have been under the original assignment. I lost my middle-seat (ie between aisle and window) and was placed in the center-3 section, which normally I would hate but I had that entire section to myself and was able to stretch out when I wanted, so that was nice. And United had some surprisingly good entertainment options for the seat-back screens.
While I was on my trip I finished three books (only one of which I started during the trip as well).
Becoming Dr. Seuss by Brian Jay Jones: A somewhat long but mostly interesting biography about Dr. Seuss's life, from his childhood to his death, through the periods of lackluster academics, his "Henry, Quick, the Flit!" ad campaign, role producing US propaganda in WWII, his slow start into children's books, and the book that catapulted him into fame (The Cat in the Hat). MiniPlu gave this book to me for my birthday, a completely independent choice of hers (not off a wishlist) and thus greatly appreciated.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Birthday gift. OMG, it absolutely deserves its accolades. I LOVED IT. I thought the prose was beautiful, and the characters interesting. The non-linear timeline was sometimes confusing - I sometimes had to flip back and forth to various chapters to see if this chapter came before or after that chapter, etc. And I also had to go back to Poppet's vision of "the nice lady" they were going to put in the ground to see if that was, indeed, Tara or someone else. It took longer than I expected for Marco and Celia to fall in love, and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending - about them BOTH essentially "dying" - or not? - and becoming part of the circus. I guess I would have preferred for them to find some magical way out of the binding, that perhaps Celia could "die" and then heal herself and that would satisfy the requirements? Anyway - some solution that would have allowed them to live "ordinary" lives. I felt like the ending with Bailey came rather abruptly. Why did he have to be the one to become the heart of the circus? Why not one of the other Reveurs? Or other circus performers? Why not the twins themselves? So, yes, I wasn't quite as thrilled by the ending, but I otherwise really did adore this story and am very happy I read it.
Deosil by Jordan L. Hawk. The last book in Whyborne & Griffin's series. I had to look up the title's meaning, given that all the other books in the series were recognizable words and/or locations. Turns out - and I guess some of you might know this already - Deosil means "clockwise," just as Widdershins (the title of Book 1) means "counter-clockwise" (which I DID know). Nice full circle there. As for the story: It was, in a lot of ways, a good way to culminate all the plot points of the previous books. In other ways, it was a little too fanciful for me. I get that despots like having cooperative followers, but the idea that the Masters wanted "Perfect" beings who have absolutely no real mind of their own anymore, what's the point? How satisfying is that, really, to have reign over a world full of ants? Would they have let Mrs. Creigh survive un-Perfected? Why?
I also feel that, no matter how much the town of Widdershins has endured in the past five years, the idea that they would uniformly and suddenly be completely accepting of same-sex couples (including one cross-species same-sex couple) didn't feel very realistic for the time. I mean, it was sweet, and I want W&G to be happy, but it didn't feel real. (Side note: Where will Maggie and Persephone live? How much time will they spend together, given that Persephone is chief and is, therefore, needed below the waves on a regular basis?)
There were some emotional moments in the story, which nearly had me tearing up (a rarity), particularly when Whyborne spoke to Perfect!Griffin about how he loves all Griffin's imperfections. And about how the Maelstrom wanted to experience life, in all its highs and lows and gritty glory. And, of course, it was emotional just to finish the series, and to know that there wouldn't be any more after this. I would cheerfully have read them for years more. Pity it's such a small fandom, so it's not like I can drown my sorrows in a pile of fanfic, like we all could after HP ended.
I am - story of my life - once again behind on LJ/DW, having not had time to look at it since last Tues. Let me know if I've missed some big events/illnesses/work stuff/travel in your life!