By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, the Happy Mother’s Day greeting will be appearing on the family text thread along with some photos and emojis, and there are just a bunch of good feelings associated with the kids and family and blessings.
After Mass and a stop at the Bakery on Maple, I call my mom and wish her Happy Mother’s. Later in the day, I will stop by with a potted flowering plant that Mary picks up every year when she purchases the flowering baskets that will adorn our porch over the summer and into the fall.
Yes, Mary insists on picking her own flowering baskets for Mother’s Day—it is a tradition that began with her and her late dad who enlisted her to get flowers for grandma, who is also no longer with us—and then Mary spends the day working in the yard. It is her day, and she can do as she pleases, of course.
When I talk to my mom, she catches me up on what others in the family are doing, what her day will be like, and of course her favorite pastime this time of the year—how the Warriors are faring in the NBA finals. And then, there is always a nod to her New York Yankees.
On Saturday, the youngest returned home for a short visit between semesters at university. Along with the youngest comes Quinn, her Australian Shepherd with stunning gold eyes and white and brown and reddish coloring. Quinn is as smart as he is happy, and a joy, even though, as a herding dog he has a habit of engaging a person, me in this case, with his rear end as if leading me across the room.
Returning to Bristol from down South, where he lives with the youngest, Quinn, with his heavy coat, is enjoying the cooler weather. It certainly suits him. On one trip outside, he took 30 turns around the backyard. We’ll see how he does over the coming couple of weeks.
Aside from that the week has been relatively quiet, with AP testing going on at school meaning smaller classes since a bunch of my students take two, three, four and sometime five tests. At the same time, I have been watching the COVID-19 numbers rise and all of Connecticut’s eight counties move into the medium and high categories.
At the end of the week, the nominating conventions for Republicans and Democrats rolled around and it looks as if there are going to be several primaries in the state in August. And yes, earlier in the week, the state legislature wrapped up another session.
The big news this week had to do with the leaking of a draft of a Supreme Court decision that will affect Roe v. Wade, the longstanding decision allowing women to make reproductive choices. Whether we find out who leaked it or whether we never do, it is apparent that the Supreme Court’s vaunted reputation has been compromised.
For this week’s reading/listening, here is a segment from a recent New Yorker Radio Hour about how Ukraine refugees have been treated compared to other refugees. There is no doubt in my mind that we should be doing everything we can to help these people, but it doesn’t hurt to step back for a moment—while our hearts are soft with sadness and disbelief–to simply consider some of the collateral suffering of wars throughout other parts of the world.
Mothers, Happy Day! Everyone, enjoy your week!
“Come Sunday morning” is intended to be a weekly review, a recounting of the past week and an anticipation of week to come. Among its features will be reviews of old and new books, sharing of favorite podcasts, some family news, Bristol events and happenings and issues surrounding education, work and community journalism. He can be reached at dfortier@bristoledition.org.
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