Logan finally came home yesterday. For those of you not following the story, my 24-year-old cousin drowned about a month ago at Lake Almanor, California. They didn't find his body for about three-and-a-half weeks. My aunt finally got his ashes yesterday. To say this was an arduous process would be an understatement. I don't want [...]

The Plumas County Search and Rescue called today. Logan was found. He'd floated to the surface and was spotted by a fisherman near the Pennisula, much farther away than we ever thought he'd be. Now it's just a matter of waiting for them to bring him home. Well, bring his ashes home, really. We're all [...]

So I'm back in the saddle. At least that's the plan. Research shows that if a person smiles, it actually causes her brain to think she's happy. So in keeping with that theory, I'm just concentrating on doing what I do best -- writing, complaining, yelling at the kids -- in an attempt to start [...]

On September 15th, my 24-year-old cousin drowned at Lake Almanor, California. Like every death in any tightly knit group of people, it's changed our family forever. I tried to write Logan's eulogy for someone else to read, but I couldn't. Apparently I'm incapable of writing words that are so personal to someone else's heart. Unfortunately, [...]

On September 15th, my cousin drowned at Lake Almanor, California. We essentially stayed up at the lake for more than a week, trying to find him. The following is what happened next.   On Monday, we packed up, winterized the cabin, and came home. I was so distracted during the drive that I kept missing [...]

On September 15th, my cousin drowned at Lake Almanor, California. This is day nine of my experiences during the week that followed.   We start to feel a sense of urgency. Search and Rescue has told us Logan would surface Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and this is the final day. It feels like a giant clock [...]

On September 15th, my cousin drowned at Lake Almanor, California. This is day eight of my experiences during the week that followed.   I wake up to little girls laughing and the dog jumping on me. It looks like it’s about 5 a.m. It’s not 5 a.m. It’s closer to 7. But it’s cold and feels [...]

On September 15th, my cousin drowned at Lake Almanor, California. This is day seven of my experiences during the week that followed. My aunt calls. Search and Rescue isn’t on the lake. I go into minor freak-out mode and hear myself sounding a lot like Josh on the The West Wing. Or my uncle from Chicago. [...]

On September 15th, my cousin drowned at Lake Almanor, California. This is day six of my experiences during the week that followed. I wake up holding my daughter who’s crawled into bed with me in the middle of the night because of a bad dream. I don’t want to get up. I feel like someone’s given [...]