Dearest Rachel – I was getting serious flashbacks from 2020 yesterday morning, honey. You remember that year; we’d all been tested for Covid before Thanksgiving, for the sake of the folks (and, I think, at the recommendation, if not requirement, of the government when it came to such gatherings at the time). Yours and Daniel’sContinue reading “Half the Holiday”
Tag Archives: getting together
Not a Time to Experiment
Dearest Rachel – The holiday season is upon us once again, honey, and as the sun takes that much more time off than it did when we were in Israel (where it’s so much more noticeable, since we can’t sightsee in the dark. Here at home, there’s still plenty to do when evening falls, andContinue reading “Not a Time to Experiment”
So Many Random Little Thoughts
Dearest Rachel – Some days, I wake up in the wee hours of the morning with no desire for anything but to roll over and go back to sleep. I thought this morning was going to be the same – especially given that today is a Saturday; who wakes up early on a Saturday? ButContinue reading “So Many Random Little Thoughts”
A Chance to Hit the Town
Dearest Rachel – For all that, when I’m wandering around some foreign land (or even just another city here in the States – the last time I caught myself saying this was when Daniel and I were crisscrossing Boston), I find myself thinking that I should devote a little more attention to the sights ofContinue reading “A Chance to Hit the Town”
No Particular Point to the Moment
Dearest Rachel – If I’m to be honest with you – as well as myself – about this series of letters to you, that they’re as much a record of life happening in the days after your absence as anything else, I should be telling you about the events of the past evening. For someContinue reading “No Particular Point to the Moment”
Free to Do Nothing at All
Dearest Rachel – “Anyone free this weekend?” After three weeks of silence in the group chat, it was Logan who ventured the question the other day. Evidently, he thought it might be worthwhile to see if the others wanted to do something together either today or tomorrow. Which you might think to be a no-brainer;Continue reading “Free to Do Nothing at All”
With No Expectations to Speak Of
Dearest Rachel – After spending Thursday evening wandering around the local Frontier Days festival, you’ll recall that I wasn’t particularly enthused about getting out and about on Independence Day, despite being of the understanding that it’s a once-a-year thing. If I wait until I’m “in the mood” for a fireworks display, there won’t be anyContinue reading “With No Expectations to Speak Of”
from Rachel: Keep Singing
Reflect on all we’ve studied. What kind of things would Daniel and his friends have missed out on had they chosen instead to blend in? “Rather than miraculously avoiding being killed in chapters three and six respectively, they would have been killed in chapter 2. (If they had somehow dodged that, Daniel wouldn’t have beenContinue reading “from Rachel: Keep Singing”
I Don’t Think I Try Sometimes…
Dearest Rachel – I’ve said enough about Memorial Day festivities for one year (at least!) already, honey, so I’ll set the day itself aside for now. I will say that getting together at Jeanette and Ramón’s place is still a little surreal. It’s like attending a family reunion where I’m not actually a part ofContinue reading “I Don’t Think I Try Sometimes…”
Leaving You Behind (by Accident)
Dearest Rachel – It’s probably that much worse to be having to admit this to you on an anniversary date – in this case, the fifty-first month since your departure – but this is the way things happen (to say nothing of the timing of my finding out). Considering where it happened, it could atContinue reading “Leaving You Behind (by Accident)”
It Feels Like We’ve Done All This Before
Dearest Rachel – Considering how rare it is that we get the gang together these days, and considering this is the first time we’ve been to this place, I feel like I ought to talk about last night and give you my impressions of the place. At the same time, for all the unfamiliarity ofContinue reading “It Feels Like We’ve Done All This Before”
Too Much, Too Late
Dearest Rachel – I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t do anything, let alone eating, this late at night. Much of it has to do with the fact that I usually wake up at five or six in the morning and work out these days; by the time nine or ten in the eveningContinue reading “Too Much, Too Late”
The Place to Gather… Eventually
Dearest Rachel – Well, I think you’d be mildly pleased that the house is still a gathering place for the old gang… eventually. It may be as a last resort, but that it’s still considered as such is enough for me to consider it a win in my book. The situation started nearly a weekContinue reading “The Place to Gather… Eventually”
Bonfire
Dearest Rachel – I didn’t know what I was going to write about this (and to be honest, I still don’t, as I’m about as unmotivated to do anything this morning – writing, working out, you name it – as I’ve been in a long time), but from the moment we arrived, and made ourContinue reading “Bonfire”
Obeying Whose Orders?
Dearest Rachel – In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best choice for me to be watching while I was waiting for the girls to show up last night. For all intents and purposes, I really should be talking to you mostly about the dinner we had last night; one last get-together before I ship out. AboutContinue reading “Obeying Whose Orders?”
Back in the Balcony
Dearest Rachel – It seems like half a lifetime ago (possibly because, when you come down to it, it was) that you and I would find ourselves in the church balcony of a Sunday morning. It wasn’t so much a matter of trying to be inconspicuous (although, when you’re carrying a small baby who mightContinue reading “Back in the Balcony”
On the Same Frostbitten Wavelength
Dearest Rachel – It would seem that, intentionally or not, the gang has (mostly at my insistence) developed something of a habit of getting together at a splashy restaurant on or about the first of the year since you’ve been gone. It hasn’t been the same one each time – indeed, it’s been somewhere different everyContinue reading “On the Same Frostbitten Wavelength”
When a Holiday Isn’t
Dearest Rachel – Every so often, I’m struck by the surprising fact that most of our holidays actually still track with the origin of the word – “holy day.” Sure, almost all of them have been secularized and commercialized within an inch of their lives, but many of them still can trace their roots to aContinue reading “When a Holiday Isn’t”
The Challenge of Storytelling
Dearest Rachel – It happens so much less often these days – especially during busy seasons, such as the impending Christmas holidays – that you would think I would have plenty to tell you about when the girls come over. But it doesn’t seem to work out that way in practice. To be fair, whileContinue reading “The Challenge of Storytelling”
Busman’s Friday Evening
Dearest Rachel – The girls came over last night (well, as Meatloaf once put it, “two out of three ain’t bad”), in emulation of those days gone by when we would get together to play games and the like. Those days, unfortunately, have been much fewer and further between – and also decidedly much shorter.Continue reading “Busman’s Friday Evening”
The Final Return
Dearest Rachel – He’s about a month late from his usual schedule, but it would seem that Kevin has made one last trip back up here. This time, however, is not for a visit, but to stay here permanently. The thing is, he was a native son of the area, growing up in the DesContinue reading “The Final Return”
If This Be Treason…
Dearest Rachel – When you come down to it, this is probably one of those stories that I don’t really have the right to tell, since it’s not exactly mine. I may participate in it, to be sure, but my perspective on the event is merely from the periphery. At the same time, it’s notContinue reading “If This Be Treason…”
Indulgences
Dearest Rachel – This past weekend has been the first – and consequently, the only – one this month in which I wasn’t working in the booth at church. This meant that Daniel and I could go to church together – and therefore, since I was the one responsible for getting him there and backContinue reading “Indulgences”
Seeing The Resemblance
Dearest Rachel – So, last night, the girls were over for what felt like the first time in a long time. Yes, we’d gotten together just last week – hadn’t we? It somehow feels longer than that – but it’s been ages since we just assembled at the house to eat and watch stuff togetherContinue reading “Seeing The Resemblance”
Chasing the Robot
Dearest Rachel – So, last night we went out to that conveyor belt sushi place that’s not the Station – the one out by Woodfield – to belatedly celebrate Logan’s birthday. In a way, he’s become rather a part of the family, complete with me having to nag him about getting his finances in orderContinue reading “Chasing the Robot”
To Frame the Events of the Day
Dearest Rachel – You might think that, after a day as unusual as yesterday (even for a Sunday), I would have so much to tell you about. And yet, I was dismayed to wake up this morning without a thought in my mind as to what to say to you – or really, to sayContinue reading “To Frame the Events of the Day”
Nothing Much?
Dearest Rachel – There’s a story that’s made the rounds online that, back before the turn of the century, when automobiles were little more than a rare and expensive novelty, there was a state in which the only two automobiles within it collided. I want to say this happened in Ohio, which, considering its sizeContinue reading “Nothing Much?”
Shouldn’t It Be The Weekend By Now?
Dearest Rachel – You know, apart from putting sufficient time in at the ‘office’ (and it’s not as if I haven’t done any ‘work’ there these last few days), it rather feels like it’s been a suitably full and eventful week already. I’ve gotten in all the exercise I ever do these days in theContinue reading “Shouldn’t It Be The Weekend By Now?”
Avoiding the Crowds
Dearest Rachel – At dinner last night, the subject of what plans Daniel and I had planned for tonight came up. After a couple of weeks of not being able to get together, due to various illnesses (first – and for that matter, still, unfortunately – Ellen, and then myself), it seemed likely that theContinue reading “Avoiding the Crowds”
I Still Need to Get Out More
Dearest Rachel – I hear the occasional comment about how unusual our weather is this winter, but I can’t say that I’ve seen any real evidence of it. For instance, I’ve heard that last month has the least amount of sunlight for January since we’ve been keeping track of that; I have no idea howContinue reading “I Still Need to Get Out More”
Kuri Botchi-Issho (クリぼっち一緒)
Dearest Rachel – For all our love of anime and the like (and now, having passed that on, to a certain extent, to Daniel) we never got around to celebrating a Japanese-style Christmas in our lives together. Of course, most of this was because we had family on both sides to celebrate with, rather thanContinue reading “Kuri Botchi-Issho (クリぼっち一緒)”
Plus Ultra
Dearest Rachel – No, honey, this letter has nothing to do with My Hero Academia, despite that anime making a catchphrase out of this Latin motto. I don’t know enough about the series to comment upon it; I may have been the first otaku in the family, but I know better than to get involvedContinue reading “Plus Ultra”
How Soon Until We’d Notice?
Dearest Rachel – There’s an old children’s-level joke that asks whether heat or cold is the faster, with the punchline being ‘heat… you can catch cold.’ At the risk of Aunt Florencing the joke (you’ll recall the reference, but I may have to explain this one to everyone else), I remember from even the firstContinue reading “How Soon Until We’d Notice?”
Rules Lawyering
Dearest Rachel – So yesterday, being Sunday, was our usual game night. Only, it was anything but usual. What with Kevin being up here for the week, this was an opportunity for the four of us who have been meeting online to get together in person for the first time since the pandemic – andContinue reading “Rules Lawyering”
Letters to Rachel 