THE CRONE STORIES

Miel is the one who shows up. The one who plans, who fixes, who sends food before you have thought to ask.

If you needed her, she would come. And if you asked how she was doing, she would say fine, and mean it as a way of closing the subject.

Then, at fifty-one, the same age her mother died, she was handed something she could not organise her way around. She found herself alone in a rented room with nothing left to manage, and a question she had been outrunning for forty years finally caught up with her.

If you have ever been the strong one, the one nobody thinks to check on because they cannot picture you needing it, this one is for you.

Miel is family. My husband's cousin, and my friend for more than fifteen years, across an ocean and mostly through a screen. When she filled out her form I sat there stunned, because I had not known any of it. I am honoured she wanted to tell me.

A gentle note. This one holds a cancer scare, and Miel speaks briefly about being abused as a child. Nothing is graphic, but come to it when you are ready.

Miel's story is live now. Find somewhere quiet and give her your full attention.

THIS WEEK'S SITTING

The closing meditation from Miel's episode is also up on its own, if you want the quiet without the story first. This one is about setting something down and finding you are still there.

You Are Allowed to Be Held

Just finding us? Start at the beginning. Go back to the beginning.

New story every other Friday. Tell one woman you love.

In love, light and laughter — Karen