Absolutely nothing funny to post today, and nothing to rant about. Got bad news from a dear friend who is losing a parent, and it reopened some not-quite-healed wounds for me. It’s hard, no matter how old you are, to lose a parent. It’s hard regardless of what relationship you had with them. My dad’s been gone for 22 years; my mom died less than three years ago, and it hurts like it was yesterday.So this is short and sweet. Mo, my prayers are with you. And mama and daddy? I miss both of you terribly.
Jambalaya! 
November 16, 2005 at 3:16 pm
Last year, my mom took a tumble down the basement stairs and sprained her ankle, just before the holidays. My dad said when he got to her, she had her eyes closed and he thought she was dead…as he recalled that moment, I had to look away; it was the first time in my life I’ve seen my dad look helpless.
They’re both fine now, and active by any standard for any age, but I fear losing them every day.
~Kurt
November 16, 2005 at 5:00 pm
My mother just had a brief stay in the hospital. It sobers you up fast. Thankfully, she’s out and seems to be doing good and I didn’t have to bargain away any of my vices in the process.
I’m sorry about the bad news your dear friend received and sorry, too, it reopened some wounds for you. Wish I had the right words here, or the magic wand, to make all the hurt go away.
November 16, 2005 at 5:08 pm
Both of my parents are gone. You never really get over it.
November 16, 2005 at 8:39 pm
I’m incredibly close to my parents after spending 19 of my 25 (almost) years being an incredible ass to them and taking them for granted. Now I just take non-sentient things for granted and am an ass to everyone else.
It’s funny how drastically we change when we learn to appreciate how wonderful parents really are as opposed to how horrible we knew they were as adolescents (except for BrendaLove… she and Sparkle seem to have a great relationship even in adolescence – quite enviable)
November 16, 2005 at 9:38 pm
I work harder at being a good parent than probably anything else I do. I’m not always successful, but I realize that neither were my parents, and I turned out okay — well, yeah, okay. I guess the true test is how your kids feel at the end, not during, your term as commander in chief.
Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts, words, and posts. It brought a happy ending to a pretty crummy day.
November 16, 2005 at 9:49 pm
My dad died a couple of months ago, the hardest thing is worrying about what my mom is going through. Their 57th anniversary would have been last week.
November 17, 2005 at 8:06 am
I still have both of my parents and three of my grandparents, and I feel incredibly blessed to have had 34 years with all of them. I even had a great-grandmother until I was 24. I don’t know how you feel, but I can imagine that it might like being cut adrift somehow.
Hang in there for your friend – I’m sure you are an important source of support.