We are down to a barebones holiday at this point. Mom asked if we were changing clothes out of our PJs and dad and I both went no. She then gladly stayed in hers as well ( Read more... )

Yesterday, mom mentioned that my cousin Paul got married. He's a few months younger than me, but this is his third marriage. (Uncle John had three kids, and there are three marriages between them, but they're all from one person!) Also, his new wife has a place name for a first name, and his daughter also has a place name for a first name, so ( Read more... )

It sucked to wake up yesterday to the news of the worst mass shooting in American history. I don't know why anyone thinks that doing something like that is anywhere near okay, anywhere near appropriate, why someone would choose to do that ( Read more... )

It's been nearly a month since my uncle died, and over a week since my parents returned from his funeral. It's probably time to write it up ( Read more... )

My parents made it home last night, then spent the next hour telling stories and showing me pictures. I'll probably share more in the coming days, but suffice to say it's nice to know what certain cousins look like now--and what their kids look like at all ( Read more... )

I worked late yesterday, but I arrived home to a message from my cousin; her daughters had texted her to let her know they'd landed in California. The semi-family reunion was on its way ( Read more... )

Last week was a tough one at work. I didn't say anything about what was going on for a few days, figuring I'd break down and I didn't want to do that. It helped that my one coworker was off on Monday; she was the most likely to ask about the bird, as we trade animal stories (she has a kitten), so that worked out. And by the time I started ( Read more... )

Things have been up in the air with my uncle. He was in the military--I don't know which branch--and is getting buried in a military cemetery. However, there's some sort of waiting period, so even though he died Monday night, his funeral isn't for nearly two weeks. Normally he'd have been interred by now, so this is unusual for us to deal with ( Read more... )

This has not been a good week for my family ( Read more... )

My uncle is in town, randomly; I heard about it on Monday after my cousin emailed me. He only just called my father, his only remaining brother, just a couple hours ago. You'd think, when you live halfway across the country from half your family, that you'd let them know a bit in advance that you're coming to town so you could, I don't know, ( Read more... )