Walking Mother to the Gate
“You are a good woman,” Mother whispers as I lean close. “Why are you telling me this,” I say to her, not quite teary, because
May 3, 2024
A Little Valentine Story
Picture a second grade class, decades before now. There were rotary telephones with party lines (which meant that sometimes you had to wait your turn
February 14, 2024
Marriage vs Widowhood
On this day, 50 years ago, Silent Bob and I married. On January 31, 2024, I will have been a widow for 4 years. It’s
December 28, 2023
18 years
On this day, eighteen years ago, at this time, Silent Bob and I lay on a bed in a Grand Junction hotel room, our grief
October 20, 2023
Swing Me Around
“Janet, stop jumping around and doing cartwheels in the house.” That was my dad, his temper often intensified by the hangovers and headaches that regularly
August 28, 2023
The Scorpion Tale
At this time in 1978, just two years in advance of what will be the hottest summer on record, I was in the hospital, laboring
August 11, 2023
A PSA on October 20, 2022
This is a pubic service announcement about grief. If anything in this world is true, it’s the reality of grief and that it’s a part
October 20, 2022
The Moments Given To You
I cook as an outlet these days. The process appeals to me, because although I am past the time of babies and teens, my time is still
October 20, 2016
August 11
Just like everyone else in the summer, I’ve done a bit of movie watching. Because I never know what the movie is about or how
August 10, 2016
It is Well With My Soul
I think about my Jake all the time. I think about him in heaven. I have since the day he died. Now the strange thing
July 11, 2016
Jake Siefert Scholarship Update
For the fall semester of 2015 and spring 2016, the Jake Siefert Corp of Cadet Chaplain scholarship had two recipients! Rocio Guiterrez and Aaron Schneider
April 21, 2016
Goodbye to All That
Not too long after my Jake went to Heaven, someone asked me if I had found out anything about him that surprised me. I said
February 4, 2015
Hey Jake!
Just a note from this side of Heaven on your birthday. To tell you I love you. I’m still trying to do something with your
August 11, 2014
A Weekend
It’s been spring break for most people. Some went out of town. Some tried to go out of town. Some stayed in town. Us? Well,
March 17, 2013
Just a Song, This Morning.
On my way this morning, rain threatening to drop out of the lead winter sky, I left the radio on the station that Silent Bob
February 11, 2013
August 11th
This day 34 years ago I became a mother, a job that I longed for, one I hoped for. My first born, a son, who
August 11, 2012
At a Rose Hedge in Heaven
Gloria moved among the hedges. She looked down at her body. She felt good. No phlegm rattled harsh against her ribcage. She was hungry. She
May 13, 2012
Dinner at Six
Much to the consternation of adult sons, my middle son and my youngest son have found themselves in residence at their childhood home. In other
March 12, 2012
To Build A Fire
Deep south Texas, having received no rain for the baking months of the summer of 2011, had finally gotten rain in late December. A late
January 25, 2012
Moses: November 1998 – September 2011
This is the story of a dog’s life. It was the winter of 1998, a Houston Christmas Eve and the weather had been hovering around
October 3, 2011
Sleep in peace, in heaven and on earth, my sons: A Memorial Day Tribute
I watched his little fuzzy head while he slept. As soon as he got some hair, it stood out around his head in a fine
May 30, 2011
Jake’s ‘Daily’ Reprise 2008
Howdy, Happy Monday! Time for a confession; I never made it through Christmas the right way. Too many sons missing this year, despite John’s earnest
January 7, 2008
Elk Camp
My dad told me, “Janet, don’t ever judge how someone grieves”. He said it in a voice that was at once commanding but filled with
October 15, 2007
Jake Remembered
Dear Jake, Happy Monday up there in Heaven. I wanted to tell you about something, son. Remember the time you took me to Mulligans to
September 24, 2007