On March 16 I brought my mom to live with me to secure her safety in this pandemic. Over the several weeks that she has been with me, I see a woman that has a love of life no matter what the day is like. My mom will soon be 90 but she has the spunk of a much younger person inside. I am 65 and semi- retired and I never thought that I would be taking care of my mom at this age. My dad passed away in November of 2019 at the ripe age of 97. I know my mom misses him dearly but she knows she will be with him soon. You look at life entirely different during times like this and you understand what life is really about... family. – Marco K. P.J. O’Rourke comment: Marco, bless you for taking care of your mom, and bless her for her good spirits. Tina and I know what you and your mother are going through. Tina’s dad died at the beginning of this pandemic – of heart failure not COVID-19. He was 95, a WWII combat vet, career FBI agent, and then head of corporate security for GE, so he led a full life. But the hellish thing was that, because of quarantine restrictions at the retirement home, neither Tina nor her mom could be with Tina’s dad in his declining days. And, because those restrictions are still in force, Tina and I still can’t be together with her mom. You’re exactly right about times like these making us understand what life is really about. The ancient Greeks had a specific word, agape , for love of family, to distinguish it from passionate love ( eros ) or love of one’s friends or community ( philia ). In times like these, let us all try to be as much of a family to each other as we can.
reach adulthood, they step on your heart.” As the mother of four daughters, I can only thank my dear grandmother for preparing me for that eventuality. – Lisa Marie M. P.J. O’Rourke comment: Lisa Marie, thank you for your kind words and good wishes. My wife, Tina, endured quarantine with good grace and, mercifully, never got sick. And, amazingly, the house survived. (Despite the teasing I gave them in my article, the kids did pitch in with the cooking and cleaning. Incidentally, the way to get a teenage boy to vacuum the living room carpet is to let him use the big, noisy, macho shop vacuum I’ve got in the garage.) I have to confess that my appreciation for “homemakers” – with or without full-time jobs – isn’t quite as newfound as I made it out to be. I work at home, therefore, unlike spouses who go to an office, I have been a daily witness for 20-some years to the time and effort – and patience – that go into running a household. I stand in awe – and should have written about my in-awe standing long before this. Meanwhile your grandmother “speaks truth to powerlessness.” I’ve got a daughter who just finished college and another who just started, and they do indeed “step on my heart” (to which I respond, alas, by letting Johnny Walker step on my liver). ‘Mr. Mom’ was way funny. Thank you for the needed levity on a day when most news is rather disturbing. – Eddie C. P.J. O’Rourke comment: Thanks, Eddie. But I think I’d better let Tina answer you. She says, “He may be funny to read – but you should try having him around the house all day.”
American Consequences
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