Essentials

My faith in humanity has been restored. I had no expectations for that as I scheduled my day around going to the grocery store, starting with the call that came in from a family friend around eight o’clock: “I stood six feet back from the person in front of me, and these guys behind me…

Cousin, Grown Up

The first time I remember meeting him, he was maybe four years old. I was maybe eight. His mom is my cousin, my dad’s niece, and she and her husband and their first born were visiting family in Colorado, on leave – maybe – from an Army base in California. I didn’t have cousins around…

I’m-Okay-You’re-Okay

That’s what she calls these little conversations, no matter the time of day: I’m-okay-you’re-okay checks. You see, I don’t talk to my mom every day. There have been a two times that I can recall, after growing up and moving out (and back and out again, twice) where we not only talked but saw each…

Me v Me

If you knew me back then, it probably won’t surprise you that my favorite game on the Nintendo was Tetris. I’d play for what seemed like hours, though I am sure no one let me get away with that. What also likely won’t surprise you is that while I played, I pretended that I was…

Snow Day

When I was a little girl, snow days meant Daddy stayed home, walked around in his socks, stoked the flames in the fireplace, played games, watched movies, shoveled snow into piles that became snowmen and fortresses, sipped a second cup of coffee. When I was a little girl, Daddy came down off the roof, one…

Cheater

I have been called a cheater exactly three times in my life (that I know of). The first was for what seemed like a forged signature on a spelling test in the seventh grade. (Come on, really?!? Who requires a signature on a spelling test? ) This one, my mom took care of. The last…

Topsy

We sat toward the front of the theater, one backpack between us. When my turn came, I passed my cup down the row. The bag was split, the bottle tipped, the cup passed back, eyes wide, I sipped. And sipped and sipped. They all stared down the row. This straight-A goody-goody was theirs until the…

Seeing Red

“You should get this one,” she says, holding up a bottle of nail polish. “My dad would hate that color,” I tell her, reaching out for the drop of red and then adding it to the cart. She scans the rest of the colors and flicks a quick “Why?” over her shoulder. “I’m not sure,…

Streetlight Serenade

The streetlights watch over the drive from my house to the city, sometimes with their warm yellow glow, sometimes bathed in a pure bright white. Regardless of their tone, their texture, their message is same: when first one, then another, then another – at random intervals – snuff out before dawn dusts the east fade…

How This Works

I should have painted the house today.  I thought about it.  And got sidetracked:  I worked, we worked on our puzzle, and then Cam convinced me to help her work on the go-kart. The carburetor needs replacing.  She has most of the bolts out already, so instead of picking up a paint brush, I pick…