Jan 30 - Mom's Death, Rosetta's Flu And Donald Trump's Election Combine To Undo My World

Can't shake the feeling
that there's no ground beneath me
Each step uncertain

Jan 29 - Feeling Crushed, Sad And Confused

Sundays were "fun days"
Not right now. Life's too messed up
Always work to do

Jan 28 - A Guarded Day Of Really Trying To Stay On The Upside Of Good Health

I wake feeling aches

A walk, then an easy day

Hiding from the flu

Jan 27 - The Interrment Marks Another Sad Day, Made Even Sadder By My Visit Later In The Afternoon To See Johanna

The lovers' urns touch
Denied this closeness so long
Together once more

Jan 26 - The Day That An Ordinary 'Music Together' Class Turned Into The Start Of A Pretty Unsettling Day Of Watching Over A Little Girl Knocked Flat By Influenza

Poor wee one's so sick
We watch weird shows, then porch-walk
Sip water. Eat grapes

Jan 25 - The Trouble With Doing Childcare For An Articulate 20-Month-Old

Escalator fall
I swear, I would have told all
But R blurts it first

Jan 24 - At Ellice Recycle Giving A Less Than Stellar Sendoff To The Ancient Pots And Frying Pans, Though The Heavy Pot Lid Sings A Loud And Mournful Song When It Falls

Warped, blackened, filthy
Still, I feel Mom's gasp as I
toss them into "Steel"

Jan 23 - At Times Like These, You Appreciate A Guy Who Shows Up When He Says He Will And Deals With The Piles All Over The Condo

I like this Mike guy
He takes Mom's stuff, doesn't snoop
Says he can take more

Jan 22 - I Guess We All Ought To Know That When Death Comes, People Are Going To Be Ditching A Lot Of Our Stuff

Craigslist ads are up
Boxes fill, cupboards empty
Mom, would this kill you?

Jan 21 - You Know How Some Relatively Small Things Can Just Put A Cloud Over Your Whole Life If You Don't Attend To Them? That And We Went To Eat Delicious Ramen Bowls And See The Choir

The car must be cleaned
It's 20 dollars well-spent
Dirt will weigh on you

Jan 20 - The Process Of Closing, Ending, Shutting, Finalizing, Notifying And Sorting Continues

Time spent with bankers
A life shut down piece by piece
Lasagne again

Jan 19 - A Day With A Favourite And Distinct Young Person Who Makes Me Put Away All The Other Stuff For A Few Hours

R can walk the curb
She knows all the songs, but likes
to keep that private

Jan 18 - Living Amid My Dead Mother's Stuff

"Tai Tai's house," she says
Yes, up until it wasn't
How can she be gone?

Jan 17 - I Am Conscious Of Not Leaving The People Who Own This House Spinning Their Wheels While I Get Ready To Go, Plus I Really Must Get Some Paid Work Done

5:30 wakeup
Toilet-washing by 7
Fridge empty, bags packed

Jan 16 - Writing Obituaries Can Be Very Stressful

Bring this man to life
I overdo it, wanting
the Globe to like me

Jan 15 - The Process Of Breaking Up Mom's Condo Gets Underway As Sean And Family Prepare To Head North

Now to the spoils
Mom would be OK with this
Though not the food dump

Jan 14 - The Celebration Of Life Packs 'Em In As We Cry And Laugh Through An Intense Day

Mom, so many came
You connected them, fed them
Who will do that now?

Jan 13 - First Things First: Stop The Money From Coming

The business of death
is time passed in office chairs
Waiting to be called

Jan 12 - A Day Of Many Children And Animals Followed By A Long But Satisfying A/V Check With Lee

Hello to Bobbi!
Later, a play date, my socks
covered in dog hair

Jan 11 - I Am Grateful To Live In The Moment All Day

Children are the cure
Bland play group, though she likes it
Paul's salad is scorned

Jan 10 - We Go To The Funeral Home And Have To Avoid Looking At Each Other For Fear Of Laughing At The Big Sell We're Getting

Good grief, we're smirking
Sales pitch is so obvious
Give us a break, guy!

Jan 9 - In Which I Acknowledge That Despite My Temper Tantrum, It Really Would Be Nice To Have A Slideshow For Saturday

Old photos and songs
are recipes for weeping
I cry; Leissa cleans

Jan 8 - A Desperately Needed Day At The Museum With Daughter And Granddaughter To Think About Something Other Than Sadness

Grief spills from our skins
The water wheel distracts us
Child as antidote

Jan 7 - My Mother Dies, Leaving All Of Us Struggling To Imagine How That Is Possible

4 a.m.: Leissa
Mom has left, looking for Dad
Peace and love, dear one

Jan 6 - In Which I Foolishly Think I Can Act Like Everything's Normal Even Though Nothing Is

Mom's still here. I work
though my brain's not sharp enough
Daniel has the flu

Jan 5 - What Do You Do When Hope Is Gone And All There Is Left Is Waiting?

We cry, laugh, tell tales
Damn, Mom, you would love all this
Chelle sings 'Braided Thread'

Jan 4 - Hope Begins To Leave Us

Sense of dread takes hold
Mom wakes confused, her arm dead
By night, the truth's known

Jan 3 - A Long Day Of Alternating Between Hope And Worry

Blood pressure won't rise
They wheel Mom to a nice room
I take the couch bed

Jan 2 - This Lengthy Period Of Illness Becomes Too Much For Even The Most Stoic And Mom Finally Relents

Ambulance for Mom
The sickness festers in her
A night without sleep

Jan 1 - A Therapeutically Icy Walk Along The Sidney Waterfront

I breathe cold sea air
Watery eyes leak black tears
Grief for the year past

Dec 31 - In Which Chicken Nuggets In A Basement-Level Burger King Is As Good As It Gets For The Celebratory New Year's Eve Dinner, But At Least We Had Japanese At Lunch

A little First Night
Our small charge is unimpressed
All that cold and dark