Member-only story
Housekeeping notes
Starting the year over, a new website and discovering more barriers to entry
Winter discontent
I was brushing my teeth as the year crossed over from 2024 to ‘25, not paying attention, hoping it would come in mildly. Two days later, I found out my mother-in-law had passed in her early sixties. And the morning of her funeral, when we were about to leave, I learned that my last surviving grandparent died at 98. I will tell the story in a more literary way later, but right now it’s easier to tell it plainly while I process it.
Mourning could not have felt more different between these two. My relationship with my mother-in-law grew tense at times because she struck some nerves that had been struck a few too many times before, just this time in a New Jersey accent instead of Southern. She was gone far too soon and unexpectedly, and I wish every day to have her back.
Looking back, my grandfather and I never argued. He was always sweet and reserved. I saw him mere weeks ago at Christmas and could have expected this would happen then because he slept most of the day — barely ate and didn’t join us for the gift exchange. I cried at the dinner table while eating some impeccable scalloped potatoes. Unlike my mother-in-law, he died many years after most expected him to, surviving wars…
