My father, Kelly Blanton, aka Poppy (art above done by McKenna Blanton), died one week before Christmas. We buried and celebrated him in our hometown of Bakersfield three days after Christmas. We spent the between-time holiday in my grandparents’ home in Morro Bay with our children, grandchild and four dog babies.

These last weeks of 2024, the time between death and burial, confused me, with grief rubbing up oddly against joy. I was so relieved to be with our children, decorating cookies, building fires, walking the beach, hanging seashells on a tree topped with a ridiculously improbable lobster shell. So much laughter and baby-and-dog shenanigans. But still…

Read the rest on Substack: