Hey friends.
It’s been a while.
The last time I wrote here, life looked and felt very different — and so did I. The urgency that once poured words out of me has long since shifted. Grief doesn’t burn the same way anymore. These days it hums. Settles. Echoes when the wind hits it just right.
For a long time, I thought I was done writing. I didn’t think I had anything else to say. The thing I used to write about — that sharp, painful, beautiful chapter — had ended. Maggie was gone. And when she left, the signal changed… and then faded. Until, finally, one day I lost the signal completely. I had nothing else to say.
But recently, something started whispering again.
Not loud. Not obvious. Just flickers. The kind that show up when you notice a squirrel drinking from a busted drainpipe. Or when a crack forms in the concrete floor of the home you built with shaking hands. Or when the wind coaxes the trees to sing — and for just a second, everything stops.
Silence.
I’ve started writing again. Not because I have to — but because I need to. Because sometimes the wind says something unexpected, and somebody has to translate.
So I made a new home for those translations.
It’s called The Trees Don’t Know How to Dance — and that feels about right.
It’s where I’ll post new stories. Some short. Some sideways. All of them true, even if they aren’t.
It’ll still be me. Just… sitting on the porch, listening. Writing things down. Trying to catch what the world says when no one else is paying attention. Finding new signals.
I’m glad you’re here.
And if you’ve been here for a long time — thank you. Truly.
I hope the new stories find you the way the old ones once did.
With care,
Chris
Hi, Chris:
It’s Maggie’s Aunt Pat Valente, and Mary K is my sister who lost her Dear Maggie in 2009. Thank you sooo much and Nice you reached out!
My condolences of Maggie’s anniversary go to Mary every year on that sad day of May 4th. Yes, we all miss brilliant Maggie Mae Pilat-Waever. Forever condolences go to you too. Hope you are doing well as a survivor.
Sorry, Maggie passed away in 2005 on May 4th. Her sister, Lori, is getting married to Ronan this week on May 16th. Wish Our Maggie were with us. We really miss her!
Take care, Chris.
Love,
Mary’s Sister,
Aunt Pat Valente
SF Region
Sorry, I get the year confused about when Maggie’s left us. It was 2009. Her grandmother Gertrude Valente, survived her at age 89, and I was age 53 in 2009.
My Great Love,
Aunt Pat Valente
Maggie passed away in 2009 on May 4th. Her sister, Lori, is getting married to Ronan this week on May 16th. Wish Our Maggie were with us. We really miss her!
Take care, Chris.
Love,
Mary’s Sister,
Aunt Pat Valente
SF Region
Hi, Chris:
So nice to see you at Maggie Mae’s sister, Lori’s wedding last Saturday.
.I held your hands to extend as much comfort as possible. I miss Dear Maggie as much as you, as my sister Mary, her brother Virgil and her sister Lori do.
I can barely read now what I’m writing through tears of sadness.
I’m very happy for your fiance’, Angela and wish the very best in your new life as you move forward. You are still a nephew-in-law to me, forever and forever.
Aunt Pat Valente
Sorry, it was Friday, May 16th at Lori’s wedding.
Hello, Chris:
This evening in northern Illinois, a beautiful evening sky of pink, gold, and blue caused me to pause, and Maggie came instantly to mind. I remembered she passed in May, but I didn’t know the date. That is how I arrived at your new chapter, trying to find the date.
I will definitely read your new chapters, as you write very well and touch my soul. I think I told you years ago that you should have your story published. For me, it’s time for a re-read of your and Maggie’s story. As sad as it is,
it is a beautiful story. You two knew more love in your short time than most do in a lifetime. Forever treasure those moments and hold them tightly.
The last time I saw Maggie was when she had her art show shortly before she left us. I bawled on the way home. It was so unfair.
How do I know about Maggie? I met her when I transferred to the Austin USAO in 1997. Maggie was our Student Aid and my backup receptionist. Oh, she was a bubbly one! She exuded positivity, confidence, joy, friendliness, and intelligence. And she definitely was pretty.
Here’s a little story about how Maggie made sure I personally would always think of her: we were using some kind of pen at the receptionist desk that Maggie INSISTED we replace the cap as soon as possible so it “wouldn’t dry out.” I found this to be unnecessary, as I used the pen almost constantly. Every time Maggie “caught” me, she would unhesitantly correct my infraction. I was sooo annoyed! Now, almost 20 years later, I always smile when I see my capless pen waiting for it’s cap, and Maggie whispers, “Remember me?”
Whether Maggie realized it or not, she sure made sure she would not be forgotton. I hope she’s dancing with God’s angels tonight. God bless you, Chris.
Denise, I literally laughed out loud about the pen cap. What a great way to start the morning, thank you!
To this day, her training still remains firmly implanted; you’ll never find a capless pen around me. Thanks for sharing a wonderful and so true-to-form memory of Maggie! So many Maggie-isms are now part of me, like the pen cap and you, that it’s impossible to draw a line between where Chris ends and Maggie starts, nor would I dare try. I carry her with me forever, in unknowable, uncountable ways and I’m a better person because of it. And my pens never dry out.
Thanks so much for reaching out, Denise!
See you on the new site.
I really like the humor!
Late Maggie Weaver’s Aunt
Pat Valente
Daly City, CA of SF Area
Maggie passed away on May 4, 2009.
Love,
Her Aunt Pat Valente
Daly City, CA
Near SF
Hi, Chris:
It’s been 16 years since you lost your beloved Maggie Mae Pilar-Weaver. How are you getting along now as life goes on? Hope you’re working out alternatives with some fun. One saying is that “The world is not ending”.
Sorry about my typos..Pilat-Weaver with my smartphone keyboard and cannot edit.