Thank you, Sherry. This was quite moving and oh so vivid. I saw those spiders through the walls. and that night hag illustration is elegant! I remember being home alone one Sunday morning at about age 9 or 10 and i saw a mouse run past and I got in the bed and wouldn’t get back up. the phone rang as they were checking up on me and I started screaming, There’s a mouse in the house! over and over as if they could hear me. When they got home my parents were mad at me for not answering, but how could I? the mouse was right by where the phone was? and it was big. and i was terrified. I knew you’d understand. and why did they leave me all alone by myself anyway?

I love your stories about your mom, but man, what a creepy side she has seen through the eyes of a child— though it’s all natural to her, especially with her religious convictions. The impulse to have death be a natural side of life gone very, very awry. what a journey. Glad you’ve found the humor and the grace to share it with us!