February 26

"It's still winter, yesterday it snowed for 18 hours" This week's letter from my dad starts out with a weather report as so many of them do. The everchanging weather presents something to talk about each week. This letter goes on to say my mom put both the cars in the garage. An activity which would have been a herculean feat when I was young, but my mom cleaned out the garage a number of years ago and both cars fit now though it's still a tight squeeze. My dad seems very proud of her, though she never admits he says anything nice about her, she doesn't get to read his letters. They still have garage doors that need to be lifted up by hand and they're heavy, my dad can't lift them anymore but my mom still manages. The letter then goes on to explain that when the cars are inside the plow can nicely clear the plaza behind the garage. I've never heard it called a plaza before but there is a large driveway space where we once parked three cars across.

The next paragraph is about a trip to Trader Joe's, which is an event for my parents. They are big fans of Trader Joe's but there isn't one close by so they only get there every few months. My dad gets frozen fruit for his home mixed meusli cereal. They also made a recent trip to fancy the mall in White Plains. My mom took the freeway to get there, which she usually avoids. Dad claims she didn't know where to get off to get to the mall but I think she does know, maybe she asked him for reassurance or because he was making her nervous.

That's usually how these letters go - weather, a walk, a trip to the store or restaurant. This one though continues with a paragraph asking "How are you?" and then goes on to ask if I need any money. I don't think my dad has ever asked me that before and I haven't needed any since grad school. He seems to understand that being unemployed long term takes its toll and I appreciate the fact that he cares.

The letter concludes with my dad mentioning he just sent a note to my cousin who has two young children. My brother and I both being childless my dad occasionally reminisces to his nephews about fun activities we did as a family when we were young. My cousin grew up without a dad so it's a bit more complicated but not something to get into here. The letter ends as it always does "Love, Dad".