There is an old song by Neil Sedaka called Solitare. I hadn’t thought about it for years, but the other day, as loneliness invaded me, it came to my mind. I remember listening to this song at a time when I knew nothing about being lonely. I was young, surrounded by people. Too surrounded in fact. As a teenager, I had very little freedom, I was controlled all the time and I so wanted to fly with my …
Tag: sons
When dusk falls it’s the hardest part. The darkness, the silence, the lack of people. It used to be a full house. When I came home from work, it might be dark outside, but all the lights would be on; Mimi busying herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner, and the boys in their rooms, studying or getting ready for their rugby training. Occasionally they would be in the living room watching something on TV, or with friends who …
Some songs are just nice to listen to; some others, though, carry a strong message that goes straight to your heart. “You’re Not There”, by Lukas Graham, is an infinitely sad song whose lyrics tell a story of pain and loss. From the first time I heard it, it sounded like a heartfelt message from a son to a mother or father (or both) who died prematurely. Years later, the child talks to his missing parent, saying he …
In Britain they call it Boxing Day . No one knows exactly why it is called like that, but the most plausible theory is that it has to do with holiday gifts, handed over in a “Christmas box”. December 26 is also St. Stephen’s Day, an early Christian martyr who was stoned to death. In our family, as in many, I expect, it is a sort of “day after”, a day of hangover, when you try to recover from …
I’m leaving the house I have lived in for the past fifteen years. It’s part of the changing process I’m going through, actually not only me, but the boys as well. We are happy and excited about our new home, a larger apartment with the kitchen and living room of our dreams, and in a nicer neighbourhood, so much closer to most of my friends. Even so, as start packing and go through papers and find old …
Dear Uncle The other day I was revising the first chapters of my book and came up with a scene where the main character, Teresa, has a long talk with her Uncle Jorge, who is so much like you that he can only be one of my favourites. I’ll never forget those talks. In addition to your being great company, with a sense of humour I enjoyed so much, you always had wise words of advice to …
First of April. April fool’s day. We are all fools this year, only this is not a lie, it’s true: we are in the middle of a pandemic, and God knows when it will end. Yesterday and today I stayed indoors. The weather helped. We had rain and cold – temperatures dropped by quite a few degrees! The sea looked like lead, reflecting the dark clouds above. The rain hit the windows hard, and I concentrated on my work. …
As a declared fan of the Netflix series “The Crown” and a great admirer of Queen Elizabeth II, I could not wait for the 3rd series to begin and have already watched a few episodes. On one of them, the Queen’s character (brilliantly played by Olivia Colman in her mature years) says something that deeply impressed me, and it has dwelt on my mind ever since. The Queen’s outburst In the scene she is talking to a lifelong …
When our children grow up and start spreading their wings, at times we mothers feel sort of “abandoned”. Of course we want them to be independent, free, autonomous, but we really love it when they give us a sign of their love, when they show, even by a simple gesture, that what they feel about us has not diminished one bit – it has simply evolved, as they have. A few days ago, my younger son Pedro presented me …