View From the Hammock brought to you by Purple Frog

My father is handsome and strong. I look up, and he seems so tall even if I step on his feet  with my new brown shoes . My right-hand rests on the top of Dad's heavy palm and my left-hand rests on his right hand. He and my mother are the best Tango dancers. Every time, they bring the first-place award home. My father’s feet make sophisticated moves; he calls it “ kolena ”– creative slow and quick moves that he comes up with while dancing. My father moves forward and makes a sudden elegant shift to the right and, suddenly, putting his weight on the left foot so that I lean toward him. Now, he bends his right knee–this is where the word “kolena” came from–and gently pushes me away, leaning over me that I feel like flying. I do not have to worry–I just stand on my father’s feet. Then my dad dances with my sister. In the end, we all watch  our parents' dance. This is a treat. Argentine Tango is our most favorite. Dancing tango was always the best time I ever spent w...

       Thinking of my mother, who, as an immigrant, doesn't have any social contacts, but family, I want to share something about aging. My mother doesn't hear well and her mobility is limited. She doesn't drive and doesn't use the internet. Her phone conversations are short because she gets self-conscious, not hearing well. Teenagers might think that a life like that sucks!        My mother was for a while devastated, thinking her life was over. For several years she was depressed focusing on her health problems mostly until one day she found a new passion of beading. The bright colors of stones from all over the world–jade, agate, corals–started the healing. She seeks for certain patterns in her rich past as a Russian language and literature professor–a dignified woman, who always strived for perfection–and puts all she was into her necklaces, proving with every necklace she makes that she still is.       ...