Category Archives: Family matters

In which we discuss matters of the family.

The Adventure of Pirates, Part Two

One afternoon last September, Pete was playing with our “Story Cubes” by himself in the living room floor. This is part two of his creation.

The Adventure of Pirates
Part Two: He finds a way in

by Pete

[The turtle] climbs up to the roof of the castle! And he looks for a special keyhole, which goes with a special key that he can’t find. And then he goes to a pyramid, far away in Egypt. He climbs the castle, and he finds a magnifying glass and he finds a keyhole which goes to a key a long time ago in Egypt, where the pyramids are. And there was an arrow that pointed all the way to Egypt, to the pyramids! And he followed the footprints to a parachuting man. He was the same person, though. He parachuted into a pyramid and then the Indians ran out, and they said “We’re keeping the key for you! Time is almost out before you can rescue the princess!” And then he said, “How many years is that?”

“Twenty.” And then they asked him to look for a key inside the ancient temple.

What will happen next on the Adventures of Pirates?

And where are the pirates? Tune in tomorrow to find out, or possibly to continue wondering.

The Adventure of Pirates, Part One

I can’t think of anything to say these days, but that has never been an issue for Pete. I found evidence of that this evening when I was cleaning of my computer’s desktop. The file was originally opened on September 28, 2012, and it took me a good long while to figure out exactly what’s going on here.

One afternoon Pete was playing with our “Story Cubes” by himself in the living room floor, and this was his creation. I think we might have a mini David Lynch on our hands.

The Adventure of Pirates
by Pete

There was a house, and in lived it lived a turtle. He went to a castle, but it was locked. He tried to use the magic cane, and then the magic wand, but he could not do it! He knew why. Because there were apples stuck in the gears, and he couldn’t work. So he saw a keyhole which attended the gears. What will happen next?

He “wrote” the story in multiple parts; tune in tomorrow for the next one!

Unmoored

My Granny died yesterday.

I was flipping through Facebook on my phone while I waited for Poppy’s dance class to end. Lots of first-day-of-school pictures, a bear crossing a parking lot, people drinking Starbucks or wanting Starbucks and celebrating birthdays and selling roosters and losing jobs.

And a request for prayers from one of my cousins, because her aunt had just died. I’m not condemning my cousin for putting it on there. Facebook has become our wailing wall. I wrote about Granny’s passing, too, and I’ve taken comfort in the condolences people have left there.

It was jarring, though, getting the news like that, and driving home afterward was difficult. I’m feeling a little detached today. A little floaty. A lot unfocused.

Granny was sick for a long time, and she’s only had brief moments of clarity for the last several years. I think she might have recognized me briefly the last time I was there, but I’m not sure. She was always busy, always moving, and I can’t help but think that confinement to the nursing home and, eventually, to a wheelchair must have been terrible for her.

She is surely better, happier, released now.

I’m concerned about my mom. She’s been going to the nursing home every day for years, caring for her mother. She seems to be handling it well today, but I’m worried about what will happen next week when there aren’t any arrangements left to make.