Dave and I got married 12 years ago today. We kept it simple and got married as close to our dating anniversary as possible. So on Wednesday, we will have been together 19 years. Nineteen years sounds like a long time to me. It’s exactly half my life. And it’s gone by at an alarming…
A narrow staircase led to the loft floating hidden above the rest of the room. Sparsely furnished with only a mattress and air, it still held the two of us comfortably. Laced together, we drifted in and out of sleep with the clicking of the tape player reversing sides. Swirling guitars and ethereal vocals drifted…
I stake out the far corner of the dressing room, but there is nowhere to hide since I’m sharing the room with two friends. Crouching over to shield myself from view, I feel naked before I even undress. I wish I hadn’t grabbed an outfit to try. My friends chatter away and their preoccupation allows…
Do I miss my childhood? I miss four things about being a kid: my Gram, the close relationship I had with my older brother, summers being something special, and the excitement of Christmas. And maybe MTV playing music videos. I’m not secretive about not being a kid person. Not a very popular opinion, I know,…
This week’s memoir assignment at Write on Edge was to write about a memory of yourself with someone else, as other people help shape who we are through their words to us, their actions, or their lack of action. I wrote this to stand on its own, but it’s also a continuation of a previous…
There should be a special place in hell for people who commit the especially heinous offense of ruining your birthday party. My earliest birthday memory is the party during which my cousin Craig pushed me down our back stairs. I don’t remember ever speaking to him again. Cousin Craig and his family moved away a…
When I answered our rotary phone, the voice on the other end of the line was unfamiliar. I didn’t want to tell him I was alone in the house. But this guy was persistent. He peppered me with questions about my parents’ whereabouts, when I expected them back. “Wait, who are you again?” “I’m your…
I have written about my sleep issues before, but I haven’t fully explained I have always been a night owl. This has never been a convenient trait, and it drove my parents crazy. They would put me to bed and we all knew this was a silly game we were playing, that I was not…
Ah, the sounds of France. The sea crashing onto the beaches at Normandy mixed with the respectful hushed voices at the World War II cemetery, the rapid fire native French speakers I strained to understand, the clank of the manual metal elevator doors in the charming small hotels, and the beat of the techno music…