Oh, how I once longed to smoke. Truly. When I was in college I tried sober in a coffee shop; I tried drunk in Mexico, I put some serious effort into picking up the habit. There was something alluring about the intense inhale followed by that seductive plume curling from someone’s mouth. Smokers had an…
I have never been bullied. There was that one time some kid said my red hair looked like a used tampon in front of the entire class, but that was just… odd. I’ve been teased about my freckles and my last name. I am occasionally mocked, mostly by my children these days. Throughout my…
There were three buzzards or vultures on a telephone line when I left my house this morning. They were looking out over the piece of land across the street. Calm. Watching. I put on my blinker and made my turn, but they stayed on my mind. I assumed because of their presence that something must have died in that…
If my boobs were small and I was skinny, I would eat cake every day for breakfast and lunch. Sometimes frosting, sometimes not, but always cake. At night, I would choose between lasagna and pizza. Real lasagna with real cheese or pizza with the perfect amount of crust and a sauce that wasn’t too sweet.…
I was born tomorrow. Technically, forty-five years ago tomorrow, but I’m not a stickler for details. I was born right into the lives of my parents. They were stupid in love with one another and I came into a world of cable cars, yellow, and motor oil. I tend to romanticize this time. The…
I am white. It is the skin I was born in. It’s actually kind of peach and sometimes blotchy in the sun, but in society, I am classified as—white. I’m married to a man with similar skin, and all three of our children are shades of us. We are a white family living on…
I don’t like to cut. I drop. I suppose that’s not a good way to be, but I will not eat an avocado, or most other foods for that matter if part of it is bruised, or moldy or yucky. Oh, and bananas too. I’m not breaking off a gross piece and then eating the rest.…
We went to Strand Bookstore while we were in New York. I’d never been, first time. Largest independent bookstore in the country, I think that’s what their sign says. It doesn’t matter because whatever their small print, it was a super awesome bookstore. Huge, multiple levels, and filled with that smell of paper and…
Our recycle man has blue eyes. On the approach to our house, the last section of road is one lane. It’s also a hill. There’s an unspoken rule, if the driver at the top of the hill sees another driver moving up the road, they need to pull over and let that person pass before heading down…