For Grammy
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For Grammy

Death reminds us that we are children. For those of us who live into old age, death returns us to a state of frailty and dependence.  For anyone who believes in God, this would seem to be perfectly intentional.  We enter this world utterly dependent, and we leave this world critically aware of exactly how…

Rainbow Babies
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Rainbow Babies

The night she died stars were nesting near my window. The wind was so still that echoes of the sea were the only sounds rising from the earth until the howl of one human heart filled the universe. “The nest of stars,” marjory wentworth They call them rainbow babies because they’re born after the death…

April 5
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April 5

The bees graze cream-colored bells, the budding trees behind stretching brave branches to the open sky. Sunlight guides my path through shadow of holly tree and towering pine. Bare hydrangeas just beginning to leaf stark limbs stand sentinel. The mossy carpet is soft beneath my winter feet; pine needles and brittle twigs scatter my way….

Six Candles
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Six Candles

March 20, 2023 Dear Lizzy, Today, you would have turned six years old.  It is a struggle to imagine how beautiful you would be with your sunlit hair and oceanic eyes. It is harder to imagine how your personality would have evolved over the past four years, how much more Lizzy you would have become…

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Beachcombing

August 6, 2018, Georgetown, South Carolina A 17-month-old Lizzy tromped fearlessly through the shallows of the deserted island in the opposite direction of our companions on the shelling tour. Still smiling from the cresting waves of the boat trip, Lizzy picked up one tiny, pink-flip-flop-clad foot after another, splashing merrily. The sun twinkled rainbows across…

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The Summit

When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste…

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Chesapeake Blue

In January of 2020, Cece and I spent a month visiting my grandparents in Florida, planning our return for early February, when we were scheduled to visit NIH to get Cecilia tested for a genetic disorder that may possibly be affecting her eyes. I spent much of that month fielding comments and questions from well-meaning…