Pg 8 • JANUARY 2020 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC.


Gabriel A. Fraire


by gafraire@comcast.net Judging Life Through A Rear View Mirror


Sonoma County, CA. ~ I would like to say that when I get home af- ter a rough day at work and see the shin- ning, smiling faces of my two daughters that every- thing changes for the better. I would like to say that.


Parents know better. The


day you come home all beat up and looking to escape the outside world is the day your kids can’t stop fighting or need a school project done by morning or have to get to sports-dance-music-art-tutor-


ing-whatever class in the next ten minutes. There are some days when my appoint- ments are set, the day well planned, every- thing in place to go and I just dodn’t have the “oomph” to face it. Of course, being the responsible bill payer I am I have no choice but to meet my appointments and


make the best of the day. I have this special indicator attached to my car that always gives me an accurate reading of my physical and mental state. It’s called the rear view mirror. Almost every morning when I get into my car I have to ad-


just the mirror, tilt it up a bit. In the morning I sit tall and straight and feel good. By the end of the day, I’m slumped down in the seat, barely able to see over the dashboard. I am in real trouble when I


get in the car in the morning and do not have to adjust the mirror up. It means I am start- ing the day slumped. There are just some days


when even the best parent can do no more than just go through the motions. And I’m here to tell you, it’s okay even great parents get worn out.


Gabriel A. Fraire has been a writer more than 45 years. He has written fiction and non-fiction books, plays, poems, music lyrics, and news articles. But, he writes about his children exclusively for the Upbeat Times.


Gabriel


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CELEBRATING OUR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTORS


I Went to Disneyland with the family for Christmas -Mickey liked your paper! He even gave it a thumbs up and “autographed” my paper for me ..... My birthday is in February... maybe you can put it in that edition -would make a


great bonus gift! ~ Barbara Miles of Sonoma County


There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things that


we could use. Mother Teresa


Pg 8 • JANUARY 2020 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. ~ Abraham Lincoln


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