Hot Dogs and Marmalade
Salty like hot dogs (and tears). Sweet like marmalade (and life).
Shoveling Again
Just my luck — I’m the daughter of a stubborn man.
I looked out the window yesterday and this is what I saw.
Old habits really do die hard.
Aw, phooey.
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
That’s a little bit of snow you have there, Sally!
And I’ve heard there’s more coming!
I’ll bet it made his day.
It absolutely did. I just worry that he’s going to fall or hurt himself.
I went through this, at the same time, with my parents and my daughter. They were in their late 80s and she was a toddler.
It was a fine line between keeping them safe and crushing their spirit.
I hope I navigated the line well.
I always knew that being a burden was my grandparents and parents biggest fear, with not being useful as the 2nd biggest fear. I guess this is their way of pushing the monster away.
Someday, we’ll be looking at this from their point of view. I don’t know about you, but it kind of scares me.
There’s a great book — The House on Beartown Road by Elizabeth Cohen — about a woman caring for her elderly father while raising her daughter. It’s funny, touching, sad, bittersweet — all the adjectives that you probably lived through.
Stubbornness prevails.
Indeed. And sneak out when she’s not looking.