While I was out...

...the weather in much of the eastern USA got hotter. In my experience withe temperate climates, it's rare if not unheard of, for the temperature to approach 100 degrees one day after the next. But my townhouse village has a pool, and I finally got passes for the Alexander household for the summer.

Meanwhile, I received a link to the eulogy for Joshua, who passed away a week and a half ago...

http://www.joshuaschmiedicke.com/

...with pictures of the boy as he was growing up. Joshua was only a few weeks away from his fifth birthday. That's about how old Paul was when his mom left. That happened sixteen years ago today. All things considered, life is good.

But I wish it were as good for my parents. They're getting up in years -- Mom is 74, and Dad turns 81 in September -- and each of them has experienced a downturn in their health in the past few months. So I'll probably be going home to Ohio for a few days later in the summer. (Note to siblings: it's supposed to be a surprise, right?) Usually I go home once or twice a year, but I haven't been back home in over a year and a half, which is a record for me. I've considered the prospect that, after a quarter of a century, I can finally say I'm at home on the East Coast. It never felt much like that until recently, probably because I finally bought a place. You think?

They say you can't go home again. I wonder...


Photo courtesy of the Schmiedicke Family