The Madness of March
The wind howls and rattles the windows in the family room.
On TV, Brian Williams reports that North Korea is threatening nuclear attacks and that the eyes of the world are on the Vatican.
I nestle in the corner of the sofa closest to the lamp so I can sort through the day’s mail. Two postcards from landscapers announce spring is just around the corner. Coupons from a local bar & grill offer drink specials for St. Patrick’s Day and college basketball’s March Madness. A Kohl’s circular advertises its Easter dress-up sale. A thick envelope holds a booklet of information for my son’s college graduation on May 18th.
I set the stack on the coffee table and pull the ivory fleece throw off the top of the sofa and onto my shoulders.
A health reporter interviews a doctor who states the use of daily aspirin may help fight skin cancer.
My cell phone pings and I check my emails. My daughter forwarded me a confirmation of our student/parent shadow day at the remaining school on her prospective colleges list. A friend wrote, “Congrats on your new job! Enjoy your last week of freedom. lol”
I chuckle until my dog utters the moan/sigh/grumble noise he’s been making since he’s been unwell these past two months. I reach down in between the couch and the table where he is curled in a ball. I stroke his soft golden furry ears and tell him he’s my boy.
I start thinking about him and the dire diagnosis we weren’t expecting, how the house will be so quiet later this year with the kids away, and how my first job in many years may work out.
But before I indulge in my own worries too long, actress Valerie Harper, who has just been given three months to live, appears on the screen and assures me and everyone else, that things are going to be okay.