August begins with memories of loved ones. Today Jeannette would have been 104. She is missed every day in the flesh, in her kind humor, in the love she showered upon all. The smacking of her lips after the first sip of a cold beer. Her raspberry jam and lemon cake. Chicken and biscuits. Plaid Bermuda shorts. The trust she offered and accepted. 

And tomorrow my dad too celebrates a milestone, he will be 89. He will read, thoroughly, a new National Geographic, he will nap, maybe fall asleep with his Sudoku book hitting the carpet. He will make mom a cup of tea and ask us not to travel in the heat. 

As the calendar opens to this new month and these times of great uncertainty and angst in the world I'll hold tight to my heart and the love that is shared. I hope you do the same. xo