JOURNAL
Intimate, Narrative Prose
When Someone Dies
Death makes you feel completely out of control. Control is rendered null and void when you see your 95 year old grandmother's perfect pink and white casket get lifted up and pushed deeply into a cement crypt. When the mortician begins to seal the crypt, it doesn't...
Letter to the Nice Girls
Dear Nice Girl: You know who you are. You’re the one who doesn’t raise your voice in argument. You raise your hopes that understanding will prevail. You’re the one who helps the elderly couple struggling to carry their luggage. You’re the one who tidies the...
Listening to the Gentle Voice
I recently heard from an old flame. He wasn't really a boyfriend, but we were involved for a period of time many years ago. We had a good friendship. He'd call daily, usually waking me up in the morning; he lived on the other side of the country, but visited, and we...
Love
I met a woman - a stranger - at the swimming pool yesterday. There was only one other person in the pool besides me and she asked both of us, "Is it OK if I dive in the pool? I know we're not really supposed to, but sometimes ... you just need to have a little fun."...
Who Will Take Care of You?
One of the unexpected questions that creep up when you’re suddenly single is: Who will take care of you when your bones go brittle and the wrinkles get deep? Who will take care of you if you become terminally ill or have an accident of some sort that changes you and...
How Poems Can Get You Through
I love words and rhythm, so it's probably not much of a surprise that I fall swiftly into the arms of poetry, read, and swoon. On Becky in Burma, I used to post some of my work, but after learning some literary magazines consider that publication (and many magazines...
What They Don’t Tell You When You’re Getting Divorced
They don’t tell you that you’ll buy crumpets at the grocery store because they were one of your husband’s favorite. They don’t tell you it’s suddenly strange to have double sinks in your en suite when you’re single. (You know that you’ll find a way to make use of...
What to Call Your Husband (when he isn’t your husband anymore)
I don't know what to call him anymore. He's been my husband for 10 years. For two years before that, he was my boyfriend/partner. During the last 12 years, he's been my something. He's not my anything anymore. So what is he? Husband? No. Friend? No. Ex? No. Partner?...
Viva la Roma
“It’s going to be my 40th birthday and I want to do something fun. Let’s all meet in Italy and spend time in Tuscany drinking wine,” wrote my friend from my Kenya over a year ago. How could I resist such an offer? I couldn’t. There were times - especially...
What Did You Want for Mother’s Day?
"Mom! Mommmmm! Wake UP!" implored my six year old this morning as she poke-poke-poked me on the shoulder. I groaned and pulled the covers tightly over my head while mumbling something about it being Mother's Day and that meant I got to do whatever I wanted: like sleep...
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