Emma Louise Osborne

Nana, It has been more than 65 years since you died. It wasn’t a surprise because I knew about all those strokes you’d been having. At 12, I wasn’t prepared for the unremitting grief. I was inconsolable for months. So, many years later, I wonder why we had that profound connect. You only lived with

Russ

Dear Russ: Only a week has passed since your death. Seven endless days of hell, punctuated with spells of numbness. Grief slows time, turns weeks into interminable months. We almost lasted two decades together. December would have marked twenty years since we first met on Match.com. I spotted your photo, interspersed between all the pictures

Grandpa

Dear Grandpa, I really miss you. I miss going to Mets’ games and going to get McDonalds together.  I got my Arrow of Light last month for Cub Scouts. It was very exhilarating, happy, and sad when I bridged over to Boy Scouts. This was happy because it felt like a big accomplishment and sad

My Papa, Myself

“I never thought I’d live this long,” my grandfather told me as we sat in his little Brooklyn backyard with the purple irises and old pear tree. My Papa was approaching 90 years and he just couldn’t believe it. My grandmother had died and so had all his friends. How could we know that he

Missing You

It’s been twenty years, it’ll be twenty one in October this year, that you’ve been gone. It seems shocking to me that it’s already been that long. I still have the last letter that you sent me, and the last Christmas gift you gave me. My friend told me that the cover is creepy, but

Geraldine C.

Geraldine, If we could sit and talk right now, I really don’t know where I would start. So much has happened in the nine months since you’ve been gone. You did not die from the Coronavirus, but you did die during the Coronavirus. Although you were not robbed of your ability to breath, as so

Dad

Dear Dad, I didn’t want to teach today. I’m tired of teaching. No, that’s not true. I enjoy teaching G3, but I’m tired of constantly being the one in charge. All day, every day, I toggle between being G3’s mom and being his teacher. I’m constantly telling him what to do, what not to do,

Gary Jaeger

Dear Dad, This afternoon, I tested for and earned my black belt in taekwondo. Oh how I wish you could have been here to watch. During my whole life you had been my biggest fan when it came to sports. You were always there in the stands cheering me on. Just knowing you were there,