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<p>Dear Dad, I had gotten so used to you being here that sometime I feel like I simply can’t function properly any more. How many times had I called you up asking for parenting advice or to calm G3 when he didn’t like a decision I made?&nbsp; G3 joined the Boy Scouts and now he [&hellip;]</p>

<p>After reading about my frustration over not being permitted to have two speakers at my father’s funeral, my cousin suggested I contact the deacon. She reminded me that he and my father had corresponded after connecting on a neighborhood Facebook page. I took her advice and sent him an email. There was no anger in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Mom and I went up to the rectory at Sacred Heart Church today to finally schedule a funeral/memorial mass for Dad. It’s going to be on April 14, the anniversary of his death. The secretary gave us the standard packet of forms to fill out in which we have to select the hymns and readings. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I have reached my breaking point. I am completely falling apart. The last time it was March and I was writing, Dad was dying. Since last year, COVID had taken: My Dad My Health My Job My Mother’s Happiness I think losing any one of the top three would have put my over the edge, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>My son loves the stars. He enjoys going to the beach at night in the summer, and pointing out the constellations he recognizes. There are just a few he knows, and sadly, I’m not much help. Unlike my son, I’ve never been interested in astronomy. But for his sake, I try. One year for Christmas, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Two years ago, the breaks on my car died. The car was fourteen years old and it had served me well. But it was too dangerous to drive any more. I could have saved the car with new breaks and probably gotten thousands of more miles out it However, my part time job as an [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, I didn’t want to teach today. I’m tired of teaching. No, that’s not true. I enjoy teaching G3, but I’m tired of constantly being the one in charge. All day, every day, I toggle between being G3’s mom and being his teacher. I’m constantly telling him what to do, what not to do, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, On Saturday, G3 bridged over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Due to the pandemic, and restrictions on indoor gatherings, they did not have a Blue and Gold Dinner. The Cub Scout master had a short ceremony for the boys outside at Duke Island Park. It was freezing and snow covered the ground, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad,&nbsp; It snowed in Mattituck today. The snow began falling as we started our morning homeschool lessons. By noon, the snow must have been three or four inches deep — light and fluffy. I promised G3 that as soon as he finished today’s classes we could go outside to play. You know how much [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I am trying really hard to pretend that today is not Ash Wednesday, but I have not been very successful. <a href="http://causticfrolic.org/nonfiction/lent/?fbclid=IwAR3Y91fQSNxV3MJ57EX5mUjMOHNlj1f_YB8g2H81wgHXYEUaGuPmT6mrmEE" rel="nofollow">http://causticfrolic.org/nonfiction/lent/?fbclid=IwAR3Y91fQSNxV3MJ57EX5mUjMOHNlj1f_YB8g2H81wgHXYEUaGuPmT6mrmEE</a></p>

<p>Dear Dad, I had planned to pick Mom up on Saturday to take her to Mattituck, but she was having a mass said for you on Sunday — the ten month anniversary of your death — and she wanted to go. So I told her I’d pick her up on Sunday instead. Since we were [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Today is a doubly bad day for Mom. Not only does it mark 10 months since Dad died. It is her first Valentine’s day in nearly 50 years without him.&nbsp; Ten months! I can’t believe he has been gone that long. It still feels so unreal. I’ve been watching WandaVision with my son. A few [&hellip;]</p>

<p>As you already know, my son begrudging read Born A Crime by Trevor Noah for English class. He rebelled against it. He didn’t want to like it, but his laugher, as he read, told me that he didn’t quite hate it as much as he wanted to. Not even close. When he finished the book, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, This afternoon, I tested for and earned my black belt in taekwondo. Oh how I wish you could have been here to watch. During my whole life you had been my biggest fan when it came to sports. You were always there in the stands cheering me on. Just knowing you were there, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, Last year, while you and Mom were on that fateful cruise in South America, the founder and editor of Ovunque Siamo — an Italian-American Literary Journal — asked me to be the book review editor. It’s a non-salaried position, but an honor to do it. I was excited and I accepted the position. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Writing essays is boring. My son makes that declaration at least once a day, if not more. I admit, I have put far more emphasis on writing than most teachers. There are several reasons for this. The primary one being, I am a writer. I enjoy the process of expressing myself through words and I [&hellip;]</p>

<p>My son will always remember this move — the first night in his new home. Yesterday, after racing against the weather we settled in for the blizzard. Overnight, we got more than a foot of snow and when we woke up it was still snowing. I canceled school, giving my son a snow day and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>(I wrote this Sunday night but I am delayed in posting because we didn&#8217;t have cable until ten minutes ago.) Dear Dad, We moved. We finally got out of the toxic environment of our condo. I feel a sense of freedom as if I am no longer stuck. I’m still in New Jersey, and I’m [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Dear Dad, G3 competed in a virtual tournament today. I wish you were here. You and Mom would have been able to watch via Zoom. You don’t know what Zoom is. You got sick before it became a thing. It is a way for people to interact on-line. Mom is still learning the basics of [&hellip;]</p>

<p>When I told G3 that I would be homeschooling him this year, he declared that for English class he only wanted to read classics. Great, I thought, until I really thought about it. The classics were written predominantly by dead white men. As much as I loved his idea, I couldn’t go against my own [&hellip;]</p>