Sister’s Buttons

“Can we talk, I mean, is Mom pushing your buttons?” Sister asked.

“Uh, yeah, you know why?” I answered.

Sister gave me a quizzical look.

“She installed them.” I explained.

Digital Lifestyle:
There comes time, in wrapping up a death and funeral and related family matters, there’s a time when we’re dealing with that camera chip. The last loaded memory chip in a digital camera. There’s a smiling image of my father, once he realized he’d been caught.

Fresh tears.

“(something) digital cameras, work of the devil.”

Normal:
Over a lunch, a late lunch, a good lunch, a good, late lunch that lingered for hours. Literally, for hours.

“You know,” I casually mentioned, motioning towards my mother, across the table, “I am the most normal one in the family.”

Old family friend, looked at me, glanced across the table, “It’s sad, isn’t it?”