One Friday in early October 2019, I was sitting in my office near the University of Virginia when my sister Missy called. “Have you seen an email from Joe?” Well, no, I was working, or at least I was sitting at my desk talking…not checking my personal email. “Look now,” she said. “I’ll call youContinue reading “27. I Place My Hope on the Water”
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26. A Peace that Surpasses All Understanding
Rita Ann Reilly LeBlanc October 21, 1963 ~ February 5, 2014 This is the eulogy I gave for my niece Rita who died when she was 50. As it turned out, there was another chapter to Rita’s life that had yet to be written. That post will be coming shortly, but for now, I’d likeContinue reading “26. A Peace that Surpasses All Understanding”
25. As Bright and Brief as Sparks on a Chimney Wall
After my sister Maureen moved to San Francisco with her boyfriend Billy in 1965, my father took her a single lens reflex camera and a few rolls of film. Maureen had already had her first son Seamus, and Matt was on the way. Once she picked up that camera, it seemed she never put itContinue reading “25. As Bright and Brief as Sparks on a Chimney Wall”
24. An Abundance of Marjories
…or how legal, safe abortion might have changed my life When my mother was nine months old, her mother died of what was then called “blood poisoning.” It wasn’t until I was seventeen and Roe v. Wade was decided that my mother told me her mother had died from an infection brought on by anContinue reading “24. An Abundance of Marjories”
20. When John met Kate again, or Part 2
When John left for college in Boston, our lives went in different directions although we both ended up in Washington. John gave up his musical aspirations after Berklee and went into the family business: journalism. I studied poetry at the University of Maryland, fully intending to live out my days in a garret. Hungry, IContinue reading “20. When John met Kate again, or Part 2”
19. All Roads Lead to Pittsburgh
Last month we went to Pittsburgh to visit my stepdaughter Katie and her husband Dave. They moved to the ‘Burgh during the pandemic, and we hadn’t seen them for more than a year. It was a sweet reunion with lots of smiles and happy discoveries. We loved seeing their new home and walking through theContinue reading “19. All Roads Lead to Pittsburgh”
18. If this isn’t nice, what is?
For Mother’s Day our family received the perfect gift. Our daughter Maeve, with the help of her husband Bo, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I think we’re evolutionarily disposed to think our children — and grandchildren — are the most amazing little beings to touch down on earth, but this one really is.Continue reading “18. If this isn’t nice, what is?”
17. When John Met Kate
or How I met your… When I first saw John, I was sitting on the grass in the Bradens’ backyard at a party with way too many teenagers and not one adult. (It always struck me that the man who wrote Eight Is Enough left his eight children, many of them teenagers, alone for days,Continue reading “17. When John Met Kate”
16. The Sky Is Not the Limit
I’ve heard you talk about your brother Kevin for the last two years, Kate, and I never knew he was a quadriplegic, said my friend Sandy. How can that be? Well, I guess that’s not what comes to mind when I think of Kevin. It seems like Kevin has spent his life, post-injury, making theContinue reading “16. The Sky Is Not the Limit”
15. A Lifelong Alliance
In the summer of 1960, a family moved in two doors down from us. That afternoon, I watched as the movers unloaded a huge moving van. From my vantage point on the front porch, I saw a little girl of about my size climbing the front steps to the house. I walked inside and foundContinue reading “15. A Lifelong Alliance”
Life of Reillys 