CNU-My daughter-in-law said Christmas would be easier if I stayed away, and my son did not even raise his eyes to defend me. So I stayed home, alone, exactly as requested. …

crying in sympathy before he understood his own feelings.

I put their bags down and did the only thing available.

I held them.

Not efficiently. Not bravely. Just steadily.

“This is your home for as long as it needs to be,” I told them.

Susan pressed her face into my sweater and said, muffled, “Mom says this is temporary.”

“Maybe some parts are,” I said. continue reading …