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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Ashland Calendar, Friday, July 10 ... More thunderstorms expected ... Stay out of the creek, officials warn ... Ashland Calendar, Friday, July 10 ... More thunderstorms expected ... Stay out of the creek, officials warn ... ROGUES: TALES FROM THE VALLEY ROGUES: TALES FROM THE VALLEY: Dawn wants a new family Comment By Lyda Woods for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Lyda Woods for the Tidings Posted Mar. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Lyda Woods for the Tidings Posted Mar. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » RELATED CONTENT • Episode 2.8: A virtual visit to a pawn shop » Social News Episode 2.1 of the fictionalized adventures of two sisters, Dawn and Sherry, one Ashland-loving, the other Medford-bred, and their adventures across the Rogue Valley. Find prior episodes at www.dailytidings.com. Depression wrapped her bony fingers around my heart, crushing my vitality and dimming my outlook. I hated her. I was sleeping too much, curled up in bed, with Babycakes tangled between my legs. My family had blasted apart, my father dead, my mother impossible, my sister a traitor, my brother-in-law a criminal, and my brother, the only one who got me. These were people I’d lived with, day in, day out, growing up, but now I didn’t know who they were, except for Josh. My birthday had come and gone and I was now 46 and had little to show for it, except a new scar on my forehead, from my recent episode with Spinner and Raymond. At 4 p.m. on a Saturday, I was in bed, trying to escape through dreams or books. I had a stack of thrillers beside my bed, having just devoured the latest, a tart noir by Lauren Henderson. Blue, my roommate, knocked and then walked into my room, her face squeezed with concern. “Hey, Dawn. You gonna get out of bed today?” asked Blue. “I was out of bed earlier. I just got back in,” I said. Babycakes yelped, stood up, and wagged her stump of a tail. “Take Babycakes for a walk. She’s dying to go outside and it’ll do you good,” said Blue. “Yeah, okay,” I said, swinging my legs to the floor. Babycakes jumped off the bed and danced in a circle. “Good,” Blue smiled tightly and left. As my dog and I walked down Bear Creek, my thoughts circled like vultures, pecking, pushing and tearing. What is family anyway? It’s hard to escape the marketing stereotypes of the perfect family, so close, so cozy on Christmas day, at Thanksgiving dinner, and at summer barbecues, laughing and forgiving, sane and loving. I knew it was wrong to compare these media fantasies to my own blood, but these commercial illusions were embedded in my psyche from childhood. I couldn’t help it. One vulture threw down a spark of insight. I had to create my own family, a surrogate mother, a pseudo sister and a proxy father. Maybe I had already started, but I just needed to be more intentional about it. If I created my own family, then I’d pick people who really saw me now and valued that person, people who respected my boundaries, people who had vulnerability, intelligence and most important, humor. And gender didn’t matter. Blue was like the father I’d always yearned for. Would she accept the nomination? Did she want the Oscar for best father figure? Probably not. But I was going to ask her anyway. I started getting excited. I would have a dinner party, inviting my nominations for family members, sharing my new thesis over roasted chicken and root vegetables. What would happen? I didn’t know but at least the project would get me out of bed. I could schedule the party for this Sunday on Oscar night. Whoo hoo! As we walked home, I planned out my guest list, feeling a bubble of happiness rise in my lungs, lightening everything around me. Next week: Dawn gets a letter inviting her to dig into her family's past.   By Lyda Woods for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Lyda Woods for the Tidings Posted Mar. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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