My first car was a yellow 1973 AMC Gremlin with wood paneling and a bad Kmart stereo. My new car is a 2019 Yellow Jeep Wrangler with leather seats and CarPlay. My Gremlin used to backfire and eventually caught on fire. My Jeep can drive over anything and texts me when I need to change…
Helen, Gertrude, Millie, and Alice. Those are good names. They smoke, no filter, and smush out their charred nubs in a beanbag ashtray before reaching for another Entenmann’s cookie. They are all in housedresses, and they get their hair done at the same beauty parlor. I picture the remaining eggs in my body as these…
I turned ten years old on July 3rd. Well, not really. I started my blog ten years ago. I don’t like numbers. Their restrictions go past high school algebra into the mindset of our culture. Numbers can make us feel falsely badass or tragically small. I guess that alone explains why July 3rd came…
I have this theory that age sinks in once we stop seeking challenges. Hopping out of a new bed, climbing a tree, learning to read, taking off the training wheels, making it into the toilet, standing tall at a new school. These are only a few in a sea of challenges children face as they…
Inviting a pet into your life is an exercise in being in the now. When I was searching for my Jack, I read about different dog breeds, and there was one section I still find troubling—life expectancy. Jack is a Brittany, and the average life expectancy for his breed is 12-13 years. That’s not…
I don’t think my daughter ever played dress-up. She had some gypsy stuff and leftover Halloween costume props that would surface as perfectly acceptable school accessories, but she never walked around in my heels or wanted to wear my work clothes. Now I know why. Katlyn is my oldest and today she turns twenty-three.…
Last week it was decided we need a new mattress. I have learned many things as I have. . . aged. Yuck. I have learned many things as I have. . . cascaded through my years. No. I’ve learned a few things on my hopefully long walk toward the grave. Yes, that’s the one.…
My manuscript is officially late. I had to send a sad little pleading email to my editor who is far too nice to me. She graciously gave me until Monday to finish. As of this morning, that was three extra days. Three full 24-hour cycles. So, naturally given this extra time I got right to work.…
I bought a new washer and dryer. They are front loaders, which I have never had, but they make my laundry room look like a fancy laundromat, without the rolling carts. They are white and shiny, and they even play a little song when a load is finished. Stainless steel drums. It’s all very civilized and…