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Play the Hand You’re Dealt
Early morning letter to my daughter
Dear Katie,
You know that I am in a good, elevated place these days due to our buying this new townhouse. I can’t wait to get in there and make it my own.
I had a couple of “moments” yesterday that I wanted to share with you.
The first one happened early, maybe 5:30 AM. I was thinking/dreaming about Nicky. Our new neighbor has 2 pug nosed bulldogs and I was telling her, as well as a few other people lately about how Nicky was a St. Bernard that lived to be 14. I guess there’s been a lot of dog talk lately.
I was trying to force consciousness on myself, because I wanted to go to the store early. Since it was graduation day the town would become a zoo by 8 AM or so.
Anyway, I was thinking about him and how you drove back from college to be with me when I had to put him down. How you were adamant about making sure I waited until you were able to get home. The whole event was very vivid in my dreamlike state. I teared up a bit at the memory, and feeling glad at how even as a young adult you showed a kind of moral integrity that seized the moment and saved me from myself.
The 2nd thing will (I must warn you) require an ungodly amount of back story.
You remember Andy, but you never knew his first wife, Barbie. They married here after college, then moved immediately to California. Several years later she got into a very severe car accident. She…
