The weeks-long barrage of Mother's Day commercials was getting pretty depressing at our house. My wife Packrat lost her mother two years ago, and her absence looms large this time of year. Our niece Kali feels it too: she moved in with her grandmother at age 13, and lived there for a year until her grandmother's health problems forced a change of plans. Kali lived with us from age 14 until she was ready to be out on her own.
Those were tumultuous years, to say the least. We'd never been parents before, and Kali had been through a lot in those early years. Sometimes we wound up in fights over the most insane things, like when Kali ate up the last of Packrat's pop-tarts. There were moments when we wondered how anyone survives parenting a teenager - or being one.
But first, a word from our sponsor!
Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board. Just click on the Spinning Top™ to make a submission. Look for the Spinning Top™ to pop up in diaries posts around Daily Kos.
Make sure that you include the direct link to the comment (the URL), which is available by clicking on that comment's date/time. Please let us know your Daily Kos user name if you use email so we can credit you properly. If you send a writeup with the link, we can include that as well. The diarist poster reserves the right to edit all content.
Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the orange greeting card...
|
Saturday night, Kali called to check when we'd be home on Sunday - "Don't tell Packrat!" As soon as I hung up, Packrat called out from the other room: "Who was on the phone?" I'm a terrible improviser, and finally told her Kali had butt-dialed us, and I'd tried to keep her on the phone, but she was in a hurry.
Sunday morning Kali showed up at our door with coffee for all of us. She brought Packrat a gift-wrapped package of pop-tarts, and chocolate for me (for all the times she ate my chocolate, of course). She'd framed the only picture she could find of all 3 of us, from a long-ago trip to Disneyland, with our arms around Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
And the card: "Some women are mothers because they stepped in and stepped up exactly when they were needed. You didn't have to love me...you just did." Where the card had printed "Happy Mother's Day," Kali had added, "Aunties Day."
After we'd stopped crying (and reassuring the dogs that they were happy tears), we went out to breakfast. Somehow we got on the subject of kayaking, how Packrat and I hadn't gone in ages and we missed it. Kali said she'd always wanted to try it. At which point we realized none of us had anywhere else to be that day. We spent the afternoon taking turns on the water (since we only have 2 kayaks), and had a fantastic time.
On the way back, I heard Kali updating her InstaFace-SnapTwit (or whatever the youngsters call it). "Mother's Day a success. I made my aunts cry."
Yes, and somewhere up there, you made your grandma smile.
On to Top Comments!
From gharlane:
I nominate this as a Top Comment for succinctly and accurately describing the situation the world faces.
(Comment is from G2geek in Delaware Dem's diary Gov. Jack Markell (D) punches the hippies.)
From
JBL55:
From Laura Ingraham shouts it from the rooftops: DailyKos was so, so, so right! diarist jem6x replies to gharlane's comment:
"Rarely is the question asked.... is our wingnuts learning?"
From
Joan McCarter:
This is a real gem:
I questioned a man in Reno (10+ / 0-)
just to watch his campaign die...
(h/t Johnny Cash -- Folsom Prison Blues)
by Witgren on Wed May 13, 2015 at 01:34:20 PM MDT
(BTW, thanks for the daily slog doing this. It's such a highlight!)
Joan
From
Angie in WA State:
This comment by Trix in this diary by ericlewis0
Read in light of this week's news flurry over Jeb Bush and his comments regarding whether he would have started the Iraq War if he knew then what we know know?
This is the Top Comment of the month. Maybe the year, if Jeb ends up the GOP nominee.
Thanks for all you do TC Team!
-- angie
From
eyesoars:
In this comment freshwater dan reminds readers of an old joke, then apologizes for an accidental double post. Agnostic's rejoinder wins the internets. From pseudonym76's diary, Am I the only person whose sense of humor.
Top mojo, courtesy of mik:
1) how is that emergency room insurance plan working by Deep Texan +112
2) Most people in the US, don't plan on retiring, by JayFarquharson +110
2) As I noted in the other diary about this dude by Catte Nappe +110
4) DocDawg, your work on this is SPECTACULAR! by blue in NC +93
5) If he only had $10,000 in savings by aoeu +92
6) The reaction to Michelle's speech by Mr MadAsHell +86
7) And right on cue, Rand Paul comes out against by We Shall Overcome +85
8) Tipped & rec'ed nt by a2nite +78
9) Oops, mistakes were made - we shocked & awded by We Shall Overcome +77
10) It was okay with him if other people were screwed by nocynicism +74
10) I blame the media apparatus by CFAmick +74
12) Butbutbut... by Man Oh Man +73
13) Slavery does not always feature chains. by juliandomain +71
14) The same way they all do by mmacdDE +68
15) This clown is not the real story... by Flint +70
16) Lol: by CJB +66
17) in retrospect it may be genetic by annieli +64
18) The last thing any capitalist wants is by CwV +60
18) Wyden's getting bashed here in Oregon by watercarrier4diogenes +60
20) Ahhh, the invisible hand of the free market by dawgflyer13 +58
20) Candidate Obama publicly pledged to renegotiate by RFK Lives +58
20) So the guy now can't work so he doesn't qualify by Phoebe Loosinhouse +58
23) But fast track was the method where PO could by Phoebe Loosinhouse +57
23) This family is well supplied with "dumb ones" by anastasia p +57
25) Thanks for The Update by unapologeticliberal777 +56
26) Yiddish variant by libera nos +55
26) Thanks for keeping Tamir front and center, Shaun by ExpatGirl +55
28) Comcrap whoâ„¢? by JeffW +52
28) It looks like liberals are donating to his page by LibrErica +52
30) That's some 100% prime vintage rant by T Maysle +51
30) It does, and those who are reacting by Its the Supreme Court Stupid +51
Picture quilt is still borked. Jotter is holding off the minions of darkness, armed only with a thumb drive. In the meantime, please look at the nearest cat and add a caption.