Month: October 2020
Pumpkin Patch
“Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one.” – Linus Van Pelt, The Great Pumpkin 1966 Saturday evening, October 24, 2020. Our family had spent the afternoon underneath the flittering golden leaves of the Draakplaats. The restaurants and bars ringing the neighborhood square were shuttered, but the basketball court, playgound, and spaces-in-between were speckled with children. Vinny and I watched our children bike and rollerskate on the asphalt, their wheels slipping on the
A Socially Distant Social Club
Many things have changed throughout 2020. My children’s Happy New Years’ card mocks me lovingly from a corner of our kitchen. Happy 2020 it says! With smiles all around. Who would have ever thought? And isn’t that the thing? Just when we thought we had challenges, we thought battles were worth fighting for in 2019 or before, perhaps we have realized that we had been stressing out about relatively small things. In October 2020, you’re now a rebel if you give a friend a hug. The American Women’s Club celebrated our 91st anniversary in February and at one point
Hopelessly Devoted to You
“I loved, loved, loved that movie. I mean, really. I was border-line obsessed. I’d watch it and then rewind it. And I’d play it again and again. Perhaps even four or five times in a row!” The sunlight is streaming through the panes of glass, golden rays darting between our organic ginger and mint teas. The last gasps of a beautiful Belgian summer are holding strong on this Tuesday morning. My friend continues, “I mean, Sandy. . . I thought she was just so beautiful, so virginal with her beautiful blonde flipped hair. . . Sitting on the pavement at
The Quieter Front Lines
The following was an introduction during our American Women’s Club Monthly Meeting for October. My brother works as an occupational therapist in an Oregon Hospital. My mother works for a library in Dallas. As noted, my best Belgian mom-friend works at a grocery store. Stay-at-home working mandates are the rule throughout Europe and speckle the United States. My daily challenge is to keep the house quiet during my husband’s conference calls, a challenging feat. But we are all navigating unchartered and inhospitable waters right now. Our world has turned upside down. While many of us hunker down and shush our
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