Archives from 2002-2006

Jul

21

Fun House Chronicles

Back in May I told you about my aunt‘s self-published book, Lessons of Evil, and I’d like to let you know about another book she has available. It’s called Fun House Chronicles, and this is what my aunt has to say about why she wrote it:

My mother and father both ended their days in long term care facilities, one with physical and the other with mental ailments. Shortly thereafter, my husband entered a care facility and never came home again. He died there four years later. For more hours than most, I’ve sat in those hard visitor seats watching the comings and goings of staff, residents, and families. Some were appealing, others appalling.

Fun House Chronicles is the story of one woman who enters a nursing home, and how it affects her family, the staffers, the other residents, and the woman herself. There is sorrow here, of course. But you will also find humor and hope.

It is my great desire that this story gives comfort and information to anyone faced with a nursing home for self or loved ones. It includes many of the things I wish I had known before my own journey began. I wish you well.

One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t spend more time visiting my beloved grandparents in the nursing home rooms they sadly ended their lives in. I don’t even know what to say about the selfless duty my aunt and mother put in over the years—particularly with my grandfather, who couldn’t even remember the visits—except that they are incredibly strong women.

My aunt has spent a truly staggering amount of time in care facilities, and her story is a good and true one. The vignettes at the beginning of the chapters will make you smile and maybe also break your goddamned heart in two. (Here’s an excerpt from the book.)

If you’d like to check it out, or just support an independent author, or do both of those things at the same time, Fun House Chronicles is available for Kindle or Nook for the extremely reasonable price of $3.99.

Thanks for considering it. I am a big fan of my aunt, and I wish her all the success in the world.

Jul

18

Montana

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A while ago we received an invitation to the wedding of one of JB’s hunting buddies, and JB said he thought he’d like us to go. I said sure, if you’re positive the kids are invited. Oh yeah, kids are invited, JB assured me. And it sounds pretty kid-friendly since it’s outside. At a ranch. Near Missoula, Montana.

He had to work on me for a bit on the idea of road-tripping to Montana with the boys, even though Montana is one of my very favorite places (multiple trips to Glacier National Park as a kid = best childhood memories ever, at least until I read Night of the Grizzlies in 5th grade and had the description of what a sucking chest wound sounds like burned into my brain-folds in a special place that apparently grows more vivid and dramatic with age), because I couldn’t quite picture how a vacation filled with lots of driving would be enjoyable just two weeks after our last epic drive to and from Oregon, but oh, I was so wrong.

I usually have a great time on our trips to Oregon, but they’re awfully exhausting. We’re always staying with family, which I think gets hard on everyone after a while. It never really feels vacationy, you know?

The three nights we spent in Missoula over the weekend were completely different. I mean, yeah, there were some challenging moments with the kids, of course there were, but overall it was just amazing and relaxing and everything I thought a trip with kids couldn’t be. I loved the beauty of the drive, I loved exploring new places, I loved the unique and fun wedding we attended, I loved being cozied up in a hotel room at night with my little family.

And oh, Missoula! What a spectacularly gorgeous place. I can’t wait to go back.