I see you for the first time through a window. I peer in from the street. You talk to strangers while you wait for me. You see me and smile. Next, a loose hug. We order food. You ask me about pomegranates. You talk about Australia. You pronounce it funny. We move outdoors. It’s February….
Tag: Writing
The Sticks, Part 2
As I mentioned previously, folks in my life often wonder why I love it here in the middle of nowhere, New Hampshire. Recently I did a bit of reflecting about that, so I thought I would share the reasons why rural life is so appealing to me in a series of posts. My #1 (read…
Octopus Parenting
I was raised by a woman who once told me that she purchased our family home for one important reason: The real estate agent told her there were plenty of babysitters around. My mother practiced a form of what some might consider “hands off” parenting. Most of the time, I was a free-range kid. I…
Templeton: A Love Story
We were meant to be together. When I read about him in the classified ads of an Irish newspaper, I instinctively felt a connection. I picked up the phone and made arrangements for us to meet in Dublin. The next day my friend dropped me off one street over from where we were going to…
Bearing Witness
It had been a struggle to find focus. My mind felt continuously foggy and preoccupied. To get into a different mindset, I made an effort at light house cleaning. It didn’t last. The dust bunnies in the corners of the room continued to expand dramatically and seemed more aptly described as dust elephants. The “clean” laundry…
First Impressions
A Subaru passenger seat provided me with more information about Gavin, the man destined to become my husband, than I could have imagined. Future-husband (who happened to be the car’s owner) and I were just finishing a wonderfully prolonged day of bar and coffee shop hopping. It had been a dream date, actually. Neither one…
Stellar Awkwardness
The cabin was packed with bunk beds. Each dusty striped mattress was within reach of a wooden shelf on the wall for any personal items we might need for the week. I watched anxiously as Sandra Genatossio plunked down her bottle of “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific” shampoo on a shelf right next to the one I…
California
Reinvention is a blast. And free time is a beautiful thing. I finally have a few moments to work on the blog and I’ve decided to end 2016 on a different note. There is a new look and a new format, as the blog is now specifically essay-based; both personal and photographic (and more written…
The Ugly
In the early hours of November 9th I was curled up on a hotel room bed. I was sobbing and my heart was aching. It was an ugly scene. In fact, everything around me felt ugly, most notably the election map on the screen in front of me. My personality is programmed to embrace joy, humor,…
Tattooing of Memories
On a recent unusually warm fall day we took a walk on a quiet beach. He reached for my hand and then stood still for a moment with his feet in the sand. I looked over at him, my hand in his, my arms bare thanks to fantastically unseasonable New England temperatures, and took stock…
I Need Some Comedy, Folks
About eight years ago I sat on my couch, anxious, heart pounding, watching as Katie Couric interviewed the woman who had already become the principal player in my nightmares; then-governor and vice presidential hopeful, Sarah Palin. I was rattled by her answers to nearly every question, but I remember my head actually falling into my hands when…
A Mother of Dragons
I realize we are a bit past Mother’s Day. However, I think I need to extend the holiday, because I want to celebrate my mother for more than one day… Because I am the daughter of Babs. And Babs is the stuff of legends. Ok, she does not harbor a secret stash of dragon’s eggs. But she…
Springing Up
I enjoy bellying up to a cozy bar, husband within arm’s reach and a good cocktail even closer by. This is not always easy to do in the mountains of New Hampshire, so on a recent trip to Boston we did an awful lot of bar hopping. We drank spicy and aromatic concoctions and managed to…
There’s a Starman Waiting in the Sky…
I looked out at the students sitting in front of me, ready to continue the discussion and anxiously awaiting their responses to the question I had just posed. Instead, I was the recipient of blank stares. I could practically hear the crickets in the background. This scenario probably doesn’t sound all that unusual to other college…
Cup of Coffee Sparks Childfree Thoughts
My friend and I sat across from each other at a small café, lattes within arm’s reach. Our conversation was a hushed and emotional one. She had just confessed her overwhelming fear that she would never have children. Her worry stemmed from the fact that she started dating later in life, and had only recently…
The Importance of Being Earnestly Uncomfortable
I have always run from the awkward and painful. Historically my preference is to be enveloped in coziness… quite literally. I vividly remember crawling under the oversized and worn cushions on the living room couch as a child, hiding undercover, surrounded by softness and gentle darkness for hours at a time. I’ve spent so much of my…
Dear Ireland
Dear Ireland: Let me start by saying that I miss you. A lot. It has been too long, and a return visit is long overdue. I am writing on this St. Patrick’s Day because I owe you an apology. Before I get there, though, let me first say how lucky I was to spend five…
The Third Wheel in Mexico
On a lazy, hazy Mexican afternoon I sipped my drink, perched in a shaded chair at the beach near my husband, watching the birds bounce around the crooked branches above my head. It was a quiet day, and the only noise was the chirping coming from above and the crashing of waves on the beach. Suddenly…
Praising My “Useless” Degree in a Time of Political Insanity
“What the hell are you studying?” The manager at the deli where I had a part-time job was looking over my shoulder, squinting his eyes. I was reading during my lunch break, and I suspect his confusion came from seeing the title of the book in my hands. It was called “Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion”. Or maybe it was…
A Very Hungry Veterinarian’s Vocabulary
The group of people who inspired The Very Hungry Entourage blog are all, in some way, connected to the practice of veterinary medicine. Together (often hugging, gorging on cheese products, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, or screaming bloody murder) we have supported each other through the strange, frustrating, hilarious, and heartbreaking moments that are involved with the…
The Very Hungry Entourage 