December 2004

Christmas time in this house is rarely a happy time. Four years ago, Christmas eve brought a phone call from Noel’s mom about her terminal cancer. She passed away four months later, and Noel has never been the same. His depression about his mom, and about his still-alive but unavailable father, make December in general a hellish time. Last year, it was combined with his surgery, and visits from family, which turned out to be a pressure cooker of rage and emotions. Today, we are burying Squeaky our cat. He had to be put to sleep last night after a sudden paralysis. I pray for his little soul. We will miss him.