One of my earliest childhood memories finds me nestled in the back of a wood-paneled station wagon with my brothers and sister, crocheted afghans pulled to our necks, eyes fixed on the ceiling of the car and little padding for our backs. Above us, centered in the beam cast from streetlights and traveling cars, our hand-shadow puppets danced across a stage until the […]
The alarm sounds, the mind wakes up and unless we are on vacation, our to-do list unfurls itself in our head. We roll out of bed, What do I have to do today?… The unfurled list follows us to the bathroom, joins us in the shower and then rides shotgun as we make our way through our day. […]
Too old to climb stairs, mornings begin with a welcome sigh of relief from our dog, Chinook; she sleeps at the base of them on her bed, and although I pretend her eager tail wag is a euphoric response to my arrival downstairs, truth is, she is all about her empty bowls. First order of business […]
Dear 16-Year-Old Me, Just you wait. Oh, how I cringe when I hear those three words. I cringe because what is inferred is this: you don’t have a clue, you haven’t seen anything yet because the life you have led thus far doesn’t measure up to what someone else has experienced. Truth is, I don’t […]
The Kodak paper envelope with its signature yellow color is as familiar as my reflection once was. And I feel my heart sink just a little when I realize there is not one picture of me in the 36 images from the developed role. It was 17 years ago. Other than I was the one […]
For years I had been in the habit of carrying a notebook. A catch-all where I collected bits and pieces of things that interested me — quotes, observations, facts — all notations that begged me to return to them. Then I read The Memoir Project, A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life, written by Marion Roach […]
It’s been a long 5 weeks. Now, with the clarity that only comes from getting through a rough patch, I feel relieved to be in a quiet room alone with my thoughts and my computer. Had you asked me on December 1, 2014, if some of the goals I set for myself for the final month […]
