When you lose a loved one, and you're not religious, there's not a lot of ritual to fall back on. You don't sit shiva or say a rosary, or light a candle.
But I wanted to somehow mark the second anniversary of Dad's death. I mentioned wanting some sort of ritual to my mother and said, "I considered making his meatloaf, but... I don't really need to eat that."
A quick sidebar - I mastered my father's meatloaf recipe. I made it for him about two years ago, and it ended up being the last real meal he ate before he died several days later. It's Italian-esque; with fennel seed, oregano, etc - it's like eating a slice of a huge, fabulous meatball. But it's not light. It is made with ground pork and ground beef and, look - it's fucking delicious, but it's not on my diet.
So, a bit later, Mom called back and suggested I plant something to honor him. But it's early in the season, and the weather could still stab me in the back. I told her I had come up with a plan, and it was that I'd get some really top notch bird seed and put on a feed for the neighborhood feathered friends.
Dad gave me a bird feeder my first Christmas in Nashville. I fill it sporadically, and I'm chagrinned, but honestly, it's two things. One, out of sight, out of mind and two, Piper is a little too interested in eating bird seed. High fiber. The less said about that, the better.
Anyway, I got some good stuff at Kroger - a songbird mix. Cardinals, etc. are supposed to love it.
I thought about getting dried mealworms, but the idea of Piper getting into them, well... nuts and seeds seemed preferable.
So, I filled up the feeder, and I saw one bird on it before I left for work. This guy:
Not literally this exact one, but a house finch. Like this one.
Anyway, that's all I have. Dumping seed into the feeder wasn't exactly the best ritual, but it was a nice gesture. And I have a whole year before I have to come up with a better idea.
Maybe I need to stick with meatloaf.
ae
But I wanted to somehow mark the second anniversary of Dad's death. I mentioned wanting some sort of ritual to my mother and said, "I considered making his meatloaf, but... I don't really need to eat that."
A quick sidebar - I mastered my father's meatloaf recipe. I made it for him about two years ago, and it ended up being the last real meal he ate before he died several days later. It's Italian-esque; with fennel seed, oregano, etc - it's like eating a slice of a huge, fabulous meatball. But it's not light. It is made with ground pork and ground beef and, look - it's fucking delicious, but it's not on my diet.
So, a bit later, Mom called back and suggested I plant something to honor him. But it's early in the season, and the weather could still stab me in the back. I told her I had come up with a plan, and it was that I'd get some really top notch bird seed and put on a feed for the neighborhood feathered friends.
Dad gave me a bird feeder my first Christmas in Nashville. I fill it sporadically, and I'm chagrinned, but honestly, it's two things. One, out of sight, out of mind and two, Piper is a little too interested in eating bird seed. High fiber. The less said about that, the better.
Anyway, I got some good stuff at Kroger - a songbird mix. Cardinals, etc. are supposed to love it.
I thought about getting dried mealworms, but the idea of Piper getting into them, well... nuts and seeds seemed preferable.
 | ||||||
| Nope. |
So, I filled up the feeder, and I saw one bird on it before I left for work. This guy:
Not literally this exact one, but a house finch. Like this one.
Anyway, that's all I have. Dumping seed into the feeder wasn't exactly the best ritual, but it was a nice gesture. And I have a whole year before I have to come up with a better idea.
Maybe I need to stick with meatloaf.
ae
Comments
I know this is a hard time of year for you. Hugs.