Notice the Clouds (Holly Schindler)
It’s a holiday. But in my house, it’s also my brother’s birthday. It’s a weekend for Springfield-style Mexican Villa enchiladas and birthday cake. This year, we’ll have the enchiladas delivered. The parents are getting older. It’s just the natural progression of things. The celebration isn’t really smaller, but it’s different. And the difference is something you notice. The differences ring especially loudly lately. My dog died this year. He was epileptic, and the journey was so rough I know that I’ll never have another pet again. With him went the life I’d shared with animals. In the last year and a half, my dad and a good friend both had heart attacks. Time is measured in losses lately as much as it’s measured in gains. Life as it is at this moment feels a little more fragile than it used to. At some point, who knows how far ahead, there will be a time when my brother and I celebrate birthdays going out instead of staying in. It will be a gain. But the gain will be caused by a loss. ...
