I gather up the trash and put it out at the end of our driveway for pickup Thursday morning. I do this around midnight and it is gloomy because there are no street lights near us and if there is no moon, it’s pitch black. And Ed is already sleeping. Lately, I have been talking a small walk, all by myself, in the gloom, kind of enjoying the scary feel of it. (That’s the adventure part.) There are no people, there are no cars, just the road and the trees and eerie shadows.

Tonight I walked over to Don’s house (my b.i.l.) and there was no car in the driveway. Either he has a friend he stays with or he’s cleaned out his garage and is actually putting a car in it (a dream of mine for us). I’ll call him to see how he is doing. We are talking again and he asked Ed for some help with a friend of his who died and he is handling the estate. That is Ed’s specialty. But we haven’t been socializing. For those reading this who don’t know the history, we have been alienated because of political differences. He was the ranter and I was “let’s not talk about this, okay?” And he’d throw me out of the house and wouldn’t let me see my sis. We lost her 4 years ago. He came over with photos last year when his son, my nephew, died of cancer (unbelievable pain) so contact was reestablished. We’ve been family since our teens when he and my sis got married. It’s hard to give up on someone who has been family for so long. Her name was Panayotula and she was called Tula and I called her Toops. My sister. My forever sister.

I will walk again tomorrow night when I put out the recycle. Where shall I walk? Maybe around the circle that forms the cul de sac. Oh boy.

Stay safe people.

xx, Teal