1. Here it is: my house in the ever snowing winter of all winters in Massachusetts. For three weeks we have had one storm after another. The snow is as high as it looks. In Boston there is another 18 inches or so more than this. We're all sick of it but Bostonians are a gutsy lot. I'm proud to be from here.
2. The realtor called today with news. "A woman wants to rent your apartment. She gave me a deposit."
"What is she like?"
Hesitation: "She's from India."
"And…"
"I don't think it's a problem because she says she doesn't use curry when she cooks so it won't permeate the rugs and walls."
"I don't care about that. Is she nice?"
"Yes, very."
"Did you check her employment and finances?"
"Yes, she's employed and pays her bills on time every month."
"Okay then. That's great."
"Some people don't want to rent to people from India because of the curry."
"Not a problem."
"Great."
Me: Yay.
3. The hospice center called today with a message. "We want you to know we're here if you need help in grieving." I don't need help. The thought I keep having is that I was loyal and present for my Mother for all the years she needed me. So this is what the absence of regret feels like, and it is a feeling as valuable as love.
4. This book I am writing: here is mother-of-four Christine talking about her sister Louise and their childhood.
Anyway, when Louise returned from the convent, things got easier for me again although my freewheeling privacy came to a halt. She kept track of my homework and curfews and had the audacity to read my diary about Anthony and my breasts.
“Absolutely NOT!” she hollered downstairs, ordering me to leave the breakfast table and appear before her in my no longer private bedroom.
“Listen to me, Pip. Not now at thirteen, not later at sixteen. Your body is a vessel of God. You have to keep it chaste until you get married.”
“What does ‘chaste’ mean, Louise?”
“It means nobody touches your privates.”
“What about kissing? Because Anthony kissed me with his tongue and I liked it. Are you sure you know about this, Louise? Anthony told me if I let him touch my boobs I will feel it down here and it will be great.” I pointed.
“NO, NO, NO” Louise screamed. “You’ll go to hell.”
The hell part was enough for me. I admit I kissed and humped my way through my teenage years but no boy got under my clothes until my first husband Norman and he must have been no Anthony, because even when I managed to stay awake, it was all pretty iffy.
5. So what else is new? Nothing but more snow. :^)
love
kj
did my other comment get lost? grrr.
ReplyDeletewhat I did say was that I loved the excerpt and that you have completely nailed it with "absence of regret". I had that with my dad. doesn't take away sadness but makes it so much easier in a way.
sending kisses (that's new, I didn't put that in the last comment and regretted it)
mim, SO much easier. even my dreams know i did my best.
Deletekisses to you too: TSUP! MWAH!
love
kj
The absence of regret. I'll aspire to that. That seems reasonable.
ReplyDeleteIf you need to see some humor in our weather (or anytime) read the Gloucester Clam. http://gloucesterclam.com/2015/02/13/100-words-for-snow/
cyndi, i try to minimize regrets in life. if i'm going to regret something, i just might do something to change that. with my Mother, i was there when she needed me and she knew that. i could do that because she gave back and didn't cling. my Mom was a gem.
Deletei'll check out that website.
love
kj
The hell part was enough for me. I admit I kissed and humped my way through my teenage years but no boy got under my clothes until my first husband Norman and he must have been no Anthony, because even when I managed to stay awake, it was all pretty iffy.
ReplyDeleteI love that paragraph!
christine is a spunk, deb. i love letting her write her story :^)
Deletelove
kj
I don't think I've ever had "an absence of regret" in any relationship. Not that I've had a lot of regrets - just that I think I could always have done something better. I don't fret over it though.
ReplyDeleteSo much snow and too cold to enjoy it. I am pulling at the leash to get the snowshoes on now that I am recuperated.
So am I now looking forward to Fifty Shades of Christine?
you must be hard on yourself, 8. sometimes the best you do is the best you can do….that means 100% of 100%
Deletetoo cold indeed! today the sun was out and a little melting took place. glorious! but not for long. dammit!
love
kj
Great dialogue - love the back and forth between the sisters - very realistic. I can see the two sisters bickering.
ReplyDeleteAlso very realistic is the snow in your yard. Yikes...
thanks so much, amanda. they are hoots together and i love writing about how they bounce off one another.
Deletelove
kj
I would be bummed about the curry, but more bummed about a smoker.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your weather. I spent two winters in Minneapolis, The normal snowfall there is four feet, and I don't think we got that much either year, but it was still too much for me, but then any amount over six inches that's not gone within five days is way too much for me.
Love,
Snow
definitely no smokers, snow.
Deletewe have three plus feet in the low parts of our yard. our lamppost could be buried. it's been a month to stay put…..
love
kj
I happen to love the smell of curry! When I go to see clients that cook with curry my stomach starts growling.
ReplyDeleteHospice is amazing and helped me through losing my mom but now it is all about time. I just need to get used to living a life without her.
hi birdie, i'm sorry about your Mother and i know what you mean. time is a healer. thankfully memories hold the love.
Deletelove
kj
Oh, well, snow happens. Every year. Especially here in the Great White North (aka Canada). But, being a Bear, I pretty much sleep right through it. Though I woke up a few days ago — long enough to add another post to my blog.
ReplyDeleteYou should try hibernating. Great way to put in a winter.
Another R-rated book? Hmmmm. I'm still trying to write my book, too. It's about a Bear who gets stuck in the city. First, in a zoo, finally as a. . . . (oops; can't give the ending away!) Aimed at kids (of all ages.)
I still question my sanity. But now I question other people's sanity even more. Harper, Boehner (John), and Putin, particularly. But what do I really know; I'm just a Bear.
Blessings and Bear hugs, especially for the rest of the winter! May the snow be with you! (Oh, wait; it already is; silly old Bear that I am.)
mr rob bear, no R rated in this family story; well, maybe a little but not for R rated reasons :^)
Deletei agree with your politics, of course
love
kj
Oh good lord Louise, go back to the convent.
ReplyDeletehaha on the snow--but the bitter cold behind it sucks ass big time.
Yep know what you mean about your lack of grief.
I'd say may the snow go to hell but there enough of it now to freeze it over. Google map lake Erie 92% iced over.
mark, your comment to louise cracked me up.
ReplyDeletethe weather has become dreary. hard to make plans and worries about property :^)
love
kj
My comments for what they're worth:
ReplyDeleteI've never seen that amount of snow.In fact here in Belfast we've had virtually no snow the whole winter.
Is curry any smellier than cooked meat or fried onions?
I'm very good at the absence of regret. Whatever the situation, I just do my best and if it wasn't quite good enough, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
I've encountered a few real-life Louises, and boy, are they straight-laced.
nick, i don't cook with curry but i;m told the scents permeate walls and rugs and it's hard to overcome.
Deletethanks so much for your comment. i enjoy it very much.
love
kj
Gosh kj ... what a great couple of chuckles!
ReplyDeletepoor Norman
and the real estate lady - hilarious
That snow looks very pretty but I can understand too much of something and the pleasure in it diminishes - for me here, it can be the number of hot sunny days.
Towards the end of summer and I long for cool and dull.
Two days of back to back rain and low grey skies for me here. The tail end of a cyclone is passing through, so a break of sorts for some but a horrible mess for others with damage to their homes .
Smiles to you*!*
annie, i am so glad you chuckled! thank you!
Deletedefinitely too much snow: it just keeps coming. we and everyone here worries about ice dams and interior water leaks and fragile roofs and frozen pipes. i admit being housebound has had its benefits. but i will be happy for spring.
a cyclone sounds just as serious
love
kj
All that snow and here I sit in shorts and barefeet. Living like a turtle and a duck sounds like the plan. That snippet from your novel hints at an energetic,entertaining, insightful, funny and honest story. Good on you!
ReplyDeletekay, so funny that we live on opposite sides of a small planet :^)
Deletei'm having a great time writing this novel; less so determining the order of the story and its chapters. your adjectives warm my hopeful heart xo
love
kj
Your home looks like the set of a movie...I've seen little snow in my life! We've just had cyclonic weather here so it's hot and humid. I like what you said about your presence with your Mother...I hope to feel that way. The novel, well, it takes me back to my teenage years at a Catholic girls school...
ReplyDeletehello chrisy! the house is just a ranch, not at all fancy, but the area i live in has trees and land. and my beloved garden….
Deleteyou hit the tone of louise and just right!!!! i have a catholic background too :^)
love
kj
Oh good, you’re back.
ReplyDeleteI can’t remember exactly what I said in a previous comment but I had hoped for some further info on you.
At least I know that you are snowed under, which means that you are on the East Coast of the US.
Your book promises to be a hoot. Is this an excerpt or a snippet of a condensed excerpt?
hi friko, in a nutshell i live in western massachusetts which is part of new england on the upper us east coast. my partner and i have a (little( (charming) house in provincetown, which is the outer most tip of cape cod, also in massachusetts. we and most of the state are definitely snowed under. boston has been hit like no other time and it just keeps coming.
Deletei hope my book is a hoot, although since it's about a family, there are challenging parts too. this is an actual except. christine is the main character but her older sister louise is close behind, as are christine's four kids. i love the word 'hoot' to describe this scene, and i thank you for it xo
love
kj
Yay for renting your place out!
ReplyDeleteUm, that book autobiographical?
cs,
ReplyDelete1. the rental fell through
2. nope
love
kj