Searching for the Key

March 18, 2016March 17, 2016 / roughwighting / 95 Comments

I’m about to leave the house at 5:45 a.m. for a long seven-hour drive to Delaware to visit my mom.

I shower and dress and gulp down a quick cup of “wake-me-up” tea quietly so I don’t wake up my sleeping guy. I even tiptoe while hunting for my shoes and lugging my suitcase to the trunk of the car.

My mom is anxiously awaiting me. At 92 and diagnosed with dementia, days and hours and weeks all merge into one long wait for her. I want to get there as soon as possible for the weekend visit.

I walk to the hallway table, the one whose drawer holds all the keys to our life: cars, house, mailbox, and a few that are “mystery keys” (as in, what the heck does this key open?).

I reach for my car keys and stop in horror. Continue reading →

Where Are YOU From?

November 20, 2015November 19, 2015 / roughwighting / 78 Comments

I’m from New Jersey, no

Not really. I mean, geographically

NJ and DE and MA and CA –

Yes, but my heart, my soul?

I’m from a deep deep unseen place

That began in the bottomless sea, Continue reading →

What Is It About Women and Their Feet?

November 13, 2015November 12, 2015 / roughwighting / 120 Comments

“I refuse to go! No one touches my feet!”

That was my mom’s reaction when I stopped in front of a beautiful spa to give the female members in my East Coast family a treat. I had just spent seven hours in the car with my daughter and granddaughter to reach Delaware for some “Nanny” time.

My mom is the most put-together 91-year-old you’ll ever meet. She wears light blue and pink pastel sweaters to show off her blue eyes and snow white hair. She shows off her lithe figure in Gap Kids jeans. Her earrings always match her necklace, which matches the color sweater she’s selected for the day.

She wears Converse sneakers to look cool – and to hide her feet.

What is it about us women and our feet? Continue reading →

A Rough Ride

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 / roughwighting / 88 Comments

I take the train from Boston to Delaware to visit my mom. Anything is better than flying, I figure. Plus, I can watch the pastoral East Coast scenery whiz by, in my romanticized notion of riding the rails.

I pack five books, my laptop, and three short story rough drafts. After all, I have more than six hours to write or read with no interruption.

Heaven!

When was the last time you rode a train? Do you remember the bouncing and jouncing, the rolling and jerking one mile to the next to the next…?

Continue reading →

Maurice, Maurice! MAURICE!!

February 6, 2015February 5, 2015 / roughwighting / 65 Comments

I love Christmas as much as the next, but by early-February, I’m ready for Valentine’s. Or better yet, spring.

However, in New England, I notice that many people still can’t give up Christmas, even in February.

When I brave the cold and snow and ice on my daily walks, I count the wreaths on the front doors of holiday stalwarts who seem to refuse to let Christmas go. Continue reading →