We said goodbye to our house on Friday, July 10. It wasn’t going to be ours anymore, so we wanted to see it one more time when it still was. We had been saying goodbye in one way or another since we’d gotten back from Mongolia last July. We knew we only had one more … Continue reading Saying goodbye to our house
Category: Uncategorized
Pandemic Summer
Our patio We are now four months into our pandemic lives, counting from the time that California pretty much shut down in mid-March. It has “opened up” again, at least in some ways, and some people have gone back to life as close to usual as they can make it. Emma and I have continued … Continue reading Pandemic Summer
Some reflections on the fifth of July
Overlooking Asahikawa, Japan on July 4, 2019 Last night, as people in our neighborhood were setting off fireworks, our dogs stuck to me. They didn’t bark or whine, but they stayed close by me as I moved around the apartment getting ready for bed. They were underfoot as I brushed my teeth and tried to … Continue reading Some reflections on the fifth of July
The Mask Post
Emma's 8th grade graduation was the first largish gathering we've attended since February. It was limited to the 10 graduates and their immediate families (nine physically attended, and one participated virtually). The families ranged in size from two (ours) to around ten. We were outside, in seating areas that were spread out across a courtyard, … Continue reading The Mask Post
Letting go
Our house Ever since we returned from Mongolia in July 2019, Emma and I have been talking about moving overseas again. We had a plan even before that, but it was a generalized plan. When Emma finished eighth grade, we’d move away from southern California, maybe to Switzerland (where my mother was from), or to … Continue reading Letting go
Waiting for Mongolia’s borders to open again
Brand new Monarch butterfly A new post is long overdue. A lot of things have been happening, and I’ve been having a hard time writing. Between the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the movement that’s responding to George Floyd’s murder by police in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor’s murder by police in Louisville, and Auhmad Arbery’s murder by … Continue reading Waiting for Mongolia’s borders to open again
Coronagrief
Emma and I went to the supermarket last night for the first time since the day our town started shutting down because of Covid-19, the novel coronavirus that is sweeping the world. We came home singing, “We did it! We did it!” from Dora the Explorer. Strange times, indeed. Dora was never our favorite. The … Continue reading Coronagrief
Back to Mongolia?
Sheltering in place, March 2020 What seems like a lifetime ago (it was March 12, 2020, less than two weeks), Emma and I were sitting at the café table outside of the art studio where she took art lessons until Covid-19 closed everything down. She was talking about what was becoming a familiar topic: how … Continue reading Back to Mongolia?
What we learned from living in Mongolia
A "ger" tissue box I wanted to write about our time in Mongolia for a number of reasons. I have lived overseas several times in my life, but many of my experiences are lost to me because I never consistently wrote about them. You always think you are going to remember things, but you start … Continue reading What we learned from living in Mongolia
Our farewell tour
My parents, 2004The day my dad diedThe day after my mom died I'm writing this from Palm Desert, California, which we're visiting for the weekend. It's probably my last time here, and it may be Emma's, though this town has been part of our family history since my parents moved here in 1994. I've spent … Continue reading Our farewell tour
