“I know, I know. I look like a bag lady,” I said. He laughed. “More like an older student.” I pursed my lips and furrowed my brow in exaggerated irritation. “That was both kindly and mean,” I retorted, happy enough to run into an old friend, and not so much, looking haggard, ragged and a […]
Paper
Yesterday began maliciously: my laptop’s functioning ground to a near halt. Everything from word documents to image files to internet access was stalled. Nightmare. I spent a considerable chunk of the day running scans and updates, dealing with the frustration of not having what I needed on the backup computer. So I resorted to paper. […]
Monday Morning Moments
After a really lousy few days, there’s nothing like a different sort of reality check. For example, everything that could have gone wrong that didn’t. On a Monday! For example: My computer didn’t crash. My car started despite the cold. I got the kid to school on time. His painting project is going well. I […]
When’s the last time you had fun?
“What do you do for fun?” he asked. I was taken aback. Really taken aback. I don’t remember the last time anyone posed that question. And it’s not unreasonable, when you’re just getting to know someone. The context? A phone call – a friend of a friend sort of thing – and all very pleasant. […]
Heartbreak Hill
Sludge. It’s a good word. Satisfying. And it sounds like what it is. You know. Onomatopoeia. And right now, while I don’t think I could pronounce onomatopoeia (or anything much over two syllables), sludge works fine for me. It describes the sensation of my brain function, not to mention the manner in which I am […]
Broken Fingers
Objects of Beauty Have you ever seen a Buddha’s Hand Lemon? It’s an extraordinary thing, somewhat floral in form, with curling tentacles. But from the side it has a squid-like shape, and resembles a prop in a sci-fi movie. I held one yesterday for the first time. I was fascinated by its waxy surface and […]
Giving Thanks
Two little words: Thank you. There are always more reasons than we realize to appreciate what we have. Some of us are appreciative daily. Some days, it’s hard to find the bright spot that may be right there, in the dark tunnel, within reach. Giving thanks is something we do on this day because it […]
Sweet Sixteen
I have reason to feel sad today, just a little. And I do. And happy, and I do. No. My sweet teen is seventeen, not sixteen. And no, it’s not his birthday. But last night as I was finishing up some writing and checking on my son, thinking about how early I needed to rise […]
My Mother’s Dress
I know this to be my truth: there are moments that take place between a man and a woman that you should never speak of, and they could fill a book, and my mother spoke of them, and I wish she had not. Yet I believed her. Or rather, I believed the depth of her […]
No Knowledge
It was an odd night of even odder dreams; an odd night because I slept eight hours (exceptional), and odd dreams as I found myself sitting behind a massive wooden desk, part of a management directive to motivate my staff with plastic boy toys. Now, now – not those toys. Strange morphing, scoping, bending wheeled […]