My daughter’s visit softened sterile surfaces of my home with a trail of mugs, plates, and debris, comforting signs of her presence. Our sympathetic bond assuaged my longing for connection, accumulated over months of pandemic isolation. We binge-watched our favorite series, family dogs nestled between us. The puppy settled onto my daughter, but tired of her position and moved away. My daughter’s reaction was instant: “My lap is so cold!” As the mother of adult daughters, I have learned the feeling of being complete when they visit home, the wash of loss when they leave. How well I understood her.
When she’s not binge watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jan Lynch can be found drinking black coffee and reading in cafes, libraries, and random bookstores.