Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: estrangement
My Father Mended Me
I’ll leave it to other people to talk about how swell their dads were, how their dads taught them to fish and play ball and inspired them to be honest and hardworking. I have a different story to tell. It’s a story of how… Continue Reading “My Father Mended Me”
The Big Box on the Porch
My sister hasn’t talked to me in decades. Over the many years, letters I’ve sent to her have been returned including one telling her that our brother had died. I took pictures of her estranged son’s grandchildren and sent them to her because, upon… Continue Reading “The Big Box on the Porch”
Grief Note
In the pantheon of weird life experiences comes this: I just mailed a one sentence note to my sister telling her our brother died late in January. The gravity of the message required that I drive the note to the downtown post office to… Continue Reading “Grief Note”
Prepare a Place for Me
There was only one reason why my father would be calling me. My mother must be dead. He explained how it happened, how just last week he had given up taking care of her at home, that for the third time, she’d gone limp… Continue Reading “Prepare a Place for Me”
Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive
If you are estranged from a family member, you might not know whether he or she is still alive. This is an odd concept for many of my friends whose families vacation together, babysit each other’s kids, and celebrate every holiday together. Would anyone… Continue Reading “Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive”
At My Mother’s Knee
Showing up after ten years’ absence when your mother is ill with Alzheimer’s Disease and having her look at you and say, “I never thought I’d see you again,” and realizing that if you had waited, like you wanted to, for another six months… Continue Reading “At My Mother’s Knee”
Honoring Hard Times
There are times in my family’s life that are never spoken of. Hard times, rough patches. Every family with any substance, especially families that have taken on the challenge of growing by adoption, has had these times. I don’t trust families who’ve had just… Continue Reading “Honoring Hard Times”
My Father Mended Me
I’ll leave it to other people to talk about how swell their dads were, how their dads taught them to fish and play ball and inspired them to be honest and hardworking. I have a different story to tell. It’s a story of how… Continue Reading “My Father Mended Me”
Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive
If you are estranged from a family member, you might not know whether he or she is still alive. This is an odd concept for many of my friends whose families vacation together, babysit each other’s kids, and celebrate every holiday together. Would anyone… Continue Reading “Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive”
The Power of I Am Sorry: Mending Family Estrangement
I’m resurrecting this piece that I wrote several years ago about my long term estrangement from my parents. It’s the story about how 10 years of silence ended. It also was the first serious personal essay I wrote. It just goes to show that the… Continue Reading “The Power of I Am Sorry: Mending Family Estrangement”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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