Lorem Ipsum

Today is the 43rd anniversary of my mother’s death.

And today would’ve been my father’s 84th birthday. (It’s been nearly 19 years since he was killed.)

I’m musing about what they might be like if they were still alive. It’s not so hard for me to imagine Peter at 84; I’m sure he would’ve continued to be pretty much who he always was. That means a bunch of different things, but the aspect of his personality that I’m remembering most today was his enthusiasm and excitement when he encountered some neat new-to-him thing—a sense of wonder about the world, about math, about books he read, about ideas (some of which weren’t true, but never mind that). And his desire to share that enthusiasm.

It’s harder for me to imagine Marcy at 80. She was only 37 when she died; I imagine that she too would’ve largely continued to be who she was, but that’s still a lot of time in which someone could grow and change. And I don’t have as clear a sense of who she was as I do of Peter, though reading so many letters of hers helps with that. Would she have continued with anthropology? Would she have done more teaching? Gotten more involved in our church? Done something entirely different? I don’t know.

Anyway. This is often a rough time of year for me (because of those anniversaries), but this year I seem to be doing okay.

Love and hugs to family and others who are remembering Peter and/or Marcy today.