Holidays are to be joyful and cozy but this 2012 caboose gave me an arse kicking. When I just got the gusto to get back into the swing of thing after a sucker-punched breakup in early November. My trip to Maui was a fragile package arriving for my friends to heal. And they did. However, within one week my mother fell and hit her head. She was hospitalized and suffered a bleed. Fortunately, there was not surgery and it was stable so she was released. I flew to Detroit and stayed for then next 13 days. During that stay, she had bouts of dizziness and to the point of faint in which I had to call 911. That resolved and we returned home. My time was limited, so I was busy making the best of getting her to doctor’s appointments, filling out paperwork workers compensation and keeping her spirits up. However, family has to obliged drama and ’tis it was. In the end, my mother suffered between the wars at hand and I couldn’t handle it well and it resulted in me going to a hotel. I needed mental rest to get up and take care of my mother, to be able to formulate sentences and speak rationally to the family that warrants little respect.
All while this was happening, the Connecticut school shootings occurred and I was not able to absorb this. I was on an emotional edge to begin with and then to see children terrorized and the teachers that gave up their lives would tear the lining of my heart.
Christmas has come and gone and mom is hanging in there. The breakup does noteven matter as the lesson will never be learned by the transgressor. The families 
of those victims still feel the pain as the list of my teachers names flood through my memory from kindergarten grade to…
Mrs.Johnson
Mrs.Mazzerella
Mrs.Wrinkler
Mrs.Carmen
Mrs.Elliott
Mr.Ventigar
Ms.Riser
so on…
For whatever reason, I still find myself addressing teachers of my youth by their formal surname, Mr. Mrs, Ms. I think it keeps that memory alive of my youth. So, I hope those families find peace and solace. I hope my mother heals completely without any residual effects and we get her to warmer climates. And once the holidays are over, I hope we do not forgot the kindness that the rest of the year and our lifetime deserves as well.
Gita 