Ordinary Canary

What a month!
About a month ago, I took my kid brother into my house and set about the business of raising a teenager. Although strange at first, this has gone surprisingly well, and it’s been just delightful having a young mind around the house. I really enjoy his different perspective. Even if [...]

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It has been a very busy month. I just came back from a visit to Wisconsin, where I saw quite a large percentage of my mom’s side of the family. It was the first time I’ve been there without her, so it was a little sad from that perspective, but it was nice [...]

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Aside from my current insomnia, it was another rather lovely weekend.
My house is well under way in being painted, but I still had to run around to hardware stores to pick up a few last colors. Damn my training in color theory that makes it impossible to paint everything one color because the [...]

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September has arrived again, though this is the first time that I’m 28 years old for it.  It is the second time that it’s shown up and I’ve had a college degree, which has lead to no small amount of duress.  It took me so long to get my degree (six years) that after I [...]

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Dad: I’m just older, sneakier and more experienced.
Me: that translates into “jerk” somehow, doesn’t it?
Dad: Nope.
Me: your turn, fink

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My mother died six months and two days ago. She’s been on my mind a lot, obviously, because round numbers are the sort of thing that stick out.
Whenever the 9th rolls around, I find myself thinking back to those awful days in the hospital. Watching her breathe through the respirator, the colonoscopy bag, [...]

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My Mom died four months ago to the day today. Around 7 p.m., the time that she died, I found myself signing mortgage paperwork to send down to my bank. It was apropos - after all, without my inheritance, I would be buying a small condo somewhere, not a three bedroom house. [...]

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O, roe, soon shall I see them,
O, hee-roe, see them, oh see them.
O, roe, soon shall I see them,
The mist covered mountains of home!
My mom was buried exactly two weeks ago, almost to the minute. This morning I woke up with The Mist Covered Mountains of Home stuck in my head, which is [...]

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It is harder to sleep than I imagined it would be.
The hospital called me around 11 a.m. yesterday. My mom has been in intensive care since Monday, but yesterday was the first day that they were able to track me down, since she’s pretty much incapable of keeping my phone number around.
The official diagnosis is [...]

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