mothers

the weather report promised doom and gloom but the mighty sun ignored instructions and kept showing up to bless every day of our short visit up north to visit our birthday-girl mom. we successfully got her to her beloved beach. where she found a bounty of drying kelp. to gather up, bring home, and eventually weave into baskets and sculptures. creative juices are flowing again. which is good for arthritic joints. mom is eighty-eight years old.

four generations of family live in this small town but mom spends most of her days alone. we worry about her; she worries about us. and once a week the fun ones show up at hers for game night! we are a close-knit bunch. not overly demonstrative but we care deeply and try to shore each other up. two kinds of people and most of the tribe are pie people not cake. we had apple walnut streusel and pumpkin.

it is a difficult time to imagine our futures. but we all try to remember to not get too caught up in anxious predictions and instead gaze clearly at the moment we are in right now. and right now. and now. am i okay today? are you?