My Life

  1. Tommy born Tommy ≈ date →
  2. Narrator (Maggie Sullivan) born ≈ date →
  3. Major nor'easter blizzard; school canceled for three days Tommy →
  4. Narrator and Tommy build igloo-inspired snow fort in backyard over two days; father helps shore up roof with plywood on Saturday Tommy →
  5. Mother photographs narrator, Tommy, and father in front of snow fort Tommy →
  6. Father employed at Raytheon working on defense contracts Raytheon ≈ date →
  7. Joan Baez playing in Boston; 15-year-old narrator wants to attend but mother refuses, telling her 'Margaret, the extraordinary things are the ordinary things' Joan Baez, Boston ≈ date →
  8. Narrator and Betty Kowalski share apartment on Walden Street Betty Kowalski, Walden Street ≈ date →
  9. Narrator meets Harold at Saturday night dance at community center on Thoreau Street; Betty Kowalski introduces the evening, then talks to Phil; Harold asks narrator to dance, steps on both feet, makes her laugh; they walk home the long way down Monument Street past Old North Bridge Harold, Betty Kowalski, Phil, Thoreau Street, Monument Street, North Bridge →
  10. Narrator visits Grace's house in Nashua for first time; Harold makes Grace's blueberry pancakes for her; Grace calls lunch 'dinner' and dinner 'supper' Harold, Grace, Nashua, New Hampshire ≈ date →
  11. Harold begins Sunday blueberry pancake ritual using Grace's unwritten recipe; continued every Sunday for over 50 years Harold, Grace ≈ date →
  12. Narrator and Harold marry at St. Bernard's church; Betty Kowalski is maid of honor wearing the green dress; extremely cold day Harold, Betty Kowalski, St. Bernard's →
  13. Sarah born Sarah →
  14. Narrator begins teaching first grade at Emerson Elementary on Stow Street Emerson Elementary, Stow Street →
  15. Eddie Flanagan returns from Vietnam missing an arm; narrator reflects on contrast between war and teaching six-year-olds to read Eddie Flanagan, Vietnam ≈ date →
  16. Harold transitioned from Barrett's Lumber to custom cabinetry; sets own hours, cares for baby Sarah in his workshop; Sarah grows up covered in sawdust Harold, Sarah ≈ date →
  17. Narrator begins daily after-lunch reading sessions with Marcus, 15 minutes each day, starting with Brown Bear Brown Bear by Bill Martin Marcus, Emerson Elementary ≈ date →
  18. Marcus reads his first sentence aloud, one word at a time with finger under each word; narrator cries in teacher's lounge afterward; Diane Kowalski says 'well good, now you can eat lunch again' Marcus, Diane Kowalski, Emerson Elementary →
  19. Grace (Harold's mother) dies Grace, Nashua →
  20. Narrator confronts superintendent at school board meeting about cutting reading specialists; Harold says 'you just scared that man half to death'; specialists not cut Harold →
  21. Narrator and Harold buy blue lobster mug at a shop on Cape Cod; handle later chipped by David, glued back by Harold Harold, Cape Cod ≈ date →
  22. Emma born Emma ≈ date →
  23. Narrator retires from Emerson Elementary after 38 years of teaching first grade Emerson Elementary →
  24. Marcus visits narrator at retirement; now a librarian; brings signed copy of Brown Bear Brown Bear that he had Bill Martin sign at an event; book displayed on narrator's shelf Marcus, Bill Martin →
  25. Lily born Lily ≈ date →
  26. Sam born Sam ≈ date →
  27. Harold buys seed packets (tomatoes, basil, sunflowers) at Crosby's; writes planting labels in his handwriting ('Tomatoes, south bed. Sunflowers, along fence.') Harold, Crosby's ≈ date →
  28. Harold dies on a Tuesday; Sunday pancake tradition ends after 50+ years Harold, David, Sarah →
  29. Wednesday morning after Harold's death: narrator wakes, reaches for him, lies with hand on his cold pillow that still smells of sawdust and Irish Spring; Sarah stayed overnight on couch; David had already flown back to Portland because Lily was sick Harold, Sarah, David, Lily, Portland ≈ date →
  30. Tommy calls at 7:30 AM Wednesday, says 'Maggie, I'm coming'; drives four hours from Vermont; arrives by noon; sits in Harold's chair without saying much Tommy, Harold, Vermont ≈ date →
  31. Narrator makes two cups of coffee each morning, placing Harold's blue lobster mug by the window where he always stood; continues for about a week before making herself stop Harold ≈ date →
  32. Narrator calls neighbor Frank Peterson for help with Harold's seeds; Frank comes every Saturday that spring to show her what to do; sunflowers grow to four feet, tallest Harold's variety had ever been Frank Peterson, Harold ≈ date →
  33. About a month after Harold's death, narrator hears back door hinge in kitchen, turns and calls out Harold's name; it was just the house frame shifting Harold ≈ date →
  34. Narrator attempts to recreate Harold's blueberry pancakes ~30 times over the first year, varying buttermilk and lemon zest; calls Mrs. DiMaggio (Grace's former neighbor) for help but she doesn't know the recipe either Harold, Mrs. DiMaggio, Grace ≈ date →
  35. Narrator finds Harold's hidden love note in Grace's Betty Crocker cookbook while searching for pancake recipe before David's birthday visit; note on yellow legal pad paper reads 'Maggie, you were the best part of every single day. The kids got your laugh. I got everything else. H.'; narrator slides down kitchen cabinet to floor, cannot finish saying his name; puts note back in same page, same fold Harold, Grace ≈ date →
  36. Narrator tells Sarah about Harold's note on the phone; both cry; 'two women crying on the phone about a piece of yellow paper' Sarah ≈ date →
  37. David's birthday visit; narrator had planned to make Harold's pancakes but never does after finding the note; they order pizza instead; David says it was better anyway David ≈ date →
  38. Grandchild's school science fair (volcano project); delays David's planned March visit Lily, Jack, David ≈ date →
  39. David visits narrator; makes his own version of the pancakes with music playing on a speaker from Emma; Lily says 'these are the best pancakes'; David and narrator share a silent moment David, Lily, Emma ≈ date →
  40. Narrator tells the Snowfort story twice at Thanksgiving without realizing; nobody corrects her but she catches Sarah's expression Sarah ≈ date →
  41. Narrator calls Jack 'Tommy' and then 'Harold'; Jack gently corrects her ('it's Jack, Grandma'); narrator recognizes her memory is slipping, motivating these recordings Jack, Tommy, Harold ≈ date →

And also...