My family and other people

A few months ago we got very busy - guests, traveling out of the country etc. So we allowed the mail to pile up. Then, one night when we had guests over to dinner and mail was scattered all around, we put it neatly in a small laundry basket that was conveniently at hand. That was the first major mistake. You know what happens when you give something a home - it settles in and starts belonging there. So now it seemed perfectly natural to toss more and more mail into that basket with the sense that the mail was being dealt with. Then the holiday season was upon us, all kinds of paper work had to be done, classes registered for, cars to be taken to dealers, the skies were cloudy all through January (excuses, excuses!) and before we knew it three months had passed. "Clear mail" got written in my planner successively on several weekends (my modus operandi is putting down every task for a particular date; if it doesn't get done that day, cross it off and move it to another da...

"It has always seemed to me, ever since early childhood, amid all the commonplaces of life, I was very near to a kingdom of ideal beauty. Between it and me hung only a thin veil. I could never draw it quite aside, but sometimes a wind fluttered it and I caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond – only a glimpse – but those glimpses have always made life worthwhile." - Lucy Maud Montgomery The time of day that used to be full of enchantment, in my childhood, was the afternoon. It was this transitory interval of quiet suspended between the morning buzz and the evening hum. The adults, who were not out at work, would be taking a well-deserved siesta after the chores of the morning - sprawled on their beds or mats, gentle snores keeping time with the droning ceiling fans above. And the entire house...and time would be mine! This was the time to dig into trunks and boxes (containing odds and ends such as a beautiful gold-embroidered red veil from my mother's wedding,...

He looks a little bit haggard and tired here. It's partly because of the scraggy beard and partly because the first day at anything for anybody is tiring, especially since you have to be on alert the whole time. However, just before going to bed Rahul said, "The best part of my day was going to orientation." So there you have it! The day almost went wrong. We thought orientation was at 10 and went there early, Rahul all keyed up and ready. A job coach (not always easy to locate these days) had been found and she was there on time too. Unfortunately we had the time wrong it seems and we had to go back home deflated. Luckily, another job coach was found for the afternoon orientation from 2-6. So after some math practice for the test tomorrow, Rahul went off to Kroger again. Other than paper work, there was some practice getting carts and bagging. The job coach was C, a very protective, voluble and helpful person in her forties. She took charge of Rahul's document...