Counting by 7s

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

People usually find a good place for stray dogs, or for the elderly when they can no longer go up stairs or use a can opener. Finding a good place for a kid seems like a much bigger challenge.

For someone grieving, moving forward is the challenge. Because after extreme loss, you want to go back.

And just being there is ninety-nine percent of what matters when your world falls apart.

All reality, I decide, is a blender where hopes and dreams are mixed with fear and despair. Only in cartoons and fairy tales and greeting cards do endings have glitter.

What we expect rarely occurs; what we don’t expect is what happens.

It doesn’t hurt as much because a large component in pain has to do with anticipation.