Comments for Songs from a Spiral Tree http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog "In a world always late afternoon, In the circular smells of a slow wind, I listen to the weeds' vesperal whine, Longing for absolutes that never come..." Theodore Roethke Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:44:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 Comment on In Praise of Inefficiency by Capt http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/30/in-praise-of-inefficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-60 Capt Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:42:36 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=33#comment-60 Hi Deb, I enjoyed your essay. I have this issue with my brother who threatens to "back a dump truck up to the back door" to alleiviate himself of my Mom's stuff (who is still living). Amazing how indifferent he can be. I really appreciated your insites on aid and attendance, I'm just starting it now after 1 1/2 years caregiving in Mom's home after a massive CVA that left her needing 24/7. AL is not an option. Wish you would make a final entry of how that worked out. I understand it must be a hard subject, sorry about your losses. Thanks. Hi Deb, I enjoyed your essay. I have this issue with my brother who threatens to “back a dump truck up to the back door” to alleiviate himself of my Mom’s stuff (who is still living). Amazing how indifferent he can be.
I really appreciated your insites on aid and attendance, I’m just starting it now after 1 1/2 years caregiving in Mom’s home after a massive CVA that left her needing 24/7. AL is not an option. Wish you would make a final entry of how that worked out. I understand it must be a hard subject, sorry about your losses. Thanks.

]]> Comment on Animal kingdom, pt. 2: What’s in a name? by PETS -N- THINGS ONLINE http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/09/20/animal-kingdom-pt-2-whats-in-a-name/comment-page-1/#comment-58 PETS -N- THINGS ONLINE Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:46:33 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=44#comment-58 <strong>Blog Carnival for Pet Writers...</strong> Image by Qole Pejorian via Flickr Welcome to the October 21, 2009 edition of a carnival for pet writers. Thank you to all to all for your wonderful submissions, ideas of things to do with your dogs and a little bit of humor by Madeleine Begu... Blog Carnival for Pet Writers…

Image by Qole Pejorian via Flickr

Welcome to the October 21, 2009 edition of a carnival for pet writers. Thank you to all to all for your wonderful submissions, ideas of things to do with your dogs and a little bit of humor by Madeleine Begu…

]]> Comment on The Two Millies by Kaye Swain http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/16/the-two-millies/comment-page-1/#comment-56 Kaye Swain Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:17:24 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=13#comment-56 I came to visit from EldercareABC Blog Carnival and really enjoyed reading this. So sweet and encouraging! Thank you for sharing it. :) I came to visit from EldercareABC Blog Carnival and really enjoyed reading this. So sweet and encouraging! Thank you for sharing it. :)

]]> Comment on The Two Millies by October 14th EldercareABC Blog Carnival | Elder Care ABC http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/16/the-two-millies/comment-page-1/#comment-52 October 14th EldercareABC Blog Carnival | Elder Care ABC Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:02:53 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=13#comment-52 [...] Peterson presents The Two Millies posted at Songs from a Spiral [...] [...] Peterson presents The Two Millies posted at Songs from a Spiral [...]

]]> Comment on Stupid acts, part 1 by karen http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/09/17/stupid-acts-part-1/comment-page-1/#comment-50 karen Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:15:07 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=37#comment-50 I like both your blogs. Keep posting. I like both your blogs. Keep posting.

]]> Comment on Animal Kingdom, pt. 1 by karen http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/09/animal-kingdom-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-46 karen Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:57:28 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=8#comment-46 You are a wonderful writer. The words are so meaningful and beautiful too. You are a wonderful writer. The words are so meaningful and beautiful too.

]]> Comment on In Praise of Inefficiency by Gail Rae Hudson http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/30/in-praise-of-inefficiency/comment-page-1/#comment-41 Gail Rae Hudson Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:30:18 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=33#comment-41 I'm with you...the suggestion that adult children should be cleaning out their parents' lives before they're dead and without their suggestion is horrifying. I also face not only a house but a shed full of stuff...and am only barely into thinking about it, let alone doing it. However, when my mother was alive one of her delights was rediscovering her possessions...and the attached memories. I used this as an activity; and loved doing it with her. I would have considered the idea of cleaning out her life before her life ended as evidence of my impending mental illness. We are a "thing" species. Things and our relationship to them is part of how we define ourselves. I can only imagine the message an adult child might impart to living parents by insisting on dispersing her parents' "things" before those parents' lives had dispersed. It smacks of erasing a person's definition while the person is alive. Yes, it's hard, and it's going to take a long time for me to distribute and/or donate those of my mother's things that I won't be keeping, the evidence of her life. Little by little it's happening, but even my sisters balk at my suggestions of what to do with this or that, and they didn't live with the stuff. On the other hand, a friend told me about one of her friends who lost her husband and within a week had cleared the house of almost everything that had belonged to him. At least the woman didn't do this before her husband died. This is, truly, a matter of different strokes for different folks. Additionally, "different" doesn't mean "aberrant", in these cases. My favorite essay of yours, so far! Excellent topic! Glad you spotted that article and were moved to respond! I’m with you…the suggestion that adult children should be cleaning out their parents’ lives before they’re dead and without their suggestion is horrifying. I also face not only a house but a shed full of stuff…and am only barely into thinking about it, let alone doing it. However, when my mother was alive one of her delights was rediscovering her possessions…and the attached memories. I used this as an activity; and loved doing it with her. I would have considered the idea of cleaning out her life before her life ended as evidence of my impending mental illness.
We are a “thing” species. Things and our relationship to them is part of how we define ourselves. I can only imagine the message an adult child might impart to living parents by insisting on dispersing her parents’ “things” before those parents’ lives had dispersed. It smacks of erasing a person’s definition while the person is alive.
Yes, it’s hard, and it’s going to take a long time for me to distribute and/or donate those of my mother’s things that I won’t be keeping, the evidence of her life. Little by little it’s happening, but even my sisters balk at my suggestions of what to do with this or that, and they didn’t live with the stuff.
On the other hand, a friend told me about one of her friends who lost her husband and within a week had cleared the house of almost everything that had belonged to him. At least the woman didn’t do this before her husband died.
This is, truly, a matter of different strokes for different folks. Additionally, “different” doesn’t mean “aberrant”, in these cases.
My favorite essay of yours, so far! Excellent topic! Glad you spotted that article and were moved to respond!

]]> Comment on Freedom is just another word: High School, pt. 1 by Gail Rae Hudson http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/25/freedom-is-just-another-word-high-school-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-40 Gail Rae Hudson Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:10:55 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=31#comment-40 So, here are my additions to this part of the conversation: Guam was (and probably still is) a Catholic island. Although I didn't attend Catholic school, about half of my friends, boys and girls, did. Social functions at regular high schools were not taken seriously by the students, but they were at the Catholic high schools. I don't remember who "my" prom king and queen were...don't even remember the process of selecting them. In my social circle, which was typical of most social circles in my high school, we bought tickets to the prom in order to garner permission from our parents to stay out all night, but none of us went to the prom and we didn't necessarily party together. One of my very close girlfriends, though, was heavily involved in the social affairs of her Catholic high school. I remember all her agonizing over the prom, which, frankly, floored me. I was actually relieved that my school didn't seem to rally around typical high school social celebrations. A fisted salute to your class nomination of C.C.! What a great idea! It's VERY interesting to me that the nuns had a "sanitized version of youthful sexuality" that they felt obligated to impose upon their students. I would have loved to have been a student participant in that face off! So, here are my additions to this part of the conversation:
Guam was (and probably still is) a Catholic island. Although I didn’t attend Catholic school, about half of my friends, boys and girls, did. Social functions at regular high schools were not taken seriously by the students, but they were at the Catholic high schools. I don’t remember who “my” prom king and queen were…don’t even remember the process of selecting them. In my social circle, which was typical of most social circles in my high school, we bought tickets to the prom in order to garner permission from our parents to stay out all night, but none of us went to the prom and we didn’t necessarily party together.
One of my very close girlfriends, though, was heavily involved in the social affairs of her Catholic high school. I remember all her agonizing over the prom, which, frankly, floored me. I was actually relieved that my school didn’t seem to rally around typical high school social celebrations.
A fisted salute to your class nomination of C.C.! What a great idea! It’s VERY interesting to me that the nuns had a “sanitized version of youthful sexuality” that they felt obligated to impose upon their students. I would have loved to have been a student participant in that face off!

]]> Comment on The Two Millies by Gail Rae Hudson http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/16/the-two-millies/comment-page-1/#comment-39 Gail Rae Hudson Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:45:18 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=13#comment-39 Thank you for this essay, Deb. It fills in quite a few gaps and answers a lot of my questions left by your blog about you and your mom. Heartwarming...and curious...same name, same birthday. Who said, "There are no coincidences..."? Thank you for this essay, Deb. It fills in quite a few gaps and answers a lot of my questions left by your blog about you and your mom. Heartwarming…and curious…same name, same birthday. Who said, “There are no coincidences…”?

]]> Comment on Animal Kingdom, pt. 1 by Gail Rae Hudson http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/2009/05/09/animal-kingdom-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-38 Gail Rae Hudson Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:40:02 +0000 http://songsfromaspiraltree.com/blog/?p=8#comment-38 Well, first, very interesting information about pet rescuers...I had no idea! Second, entranced by the description of your and Jasper's first hours with Waldo...and, frankly, I would not have been able to resist that face, either! Looking forward to anything else you write about Waldo, Jasper and you! Well, first, very interesting information about pet rescuers…I had no idea! Second, entranced by the description of your and Jasper’s first hours with Waldo…and, frankly, I would not have been able to resist that face, either! Looking forward to anything else you write about Waldo, Jasper and you!

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