Freezing fog

By the time my mother was up, had eaten breakfast and perused the morning paper thoroughly and repeatedly, all was thawed and somewhat brighter. No big walk until later, our usual routine in this slide towards winter. Watching a nature program about Diane McTurk, who works on saving giant river otters in Guyana, we marvel at her spryness at age 74, as she clambers over wooden range fences and swims fluidly with some of the otters she has rescued. "She's just a kid," says my nearly 90 year old mom, who often manages to shock me back into perspective on aging and mortality.