It is good to be home. I feel the green grass in between my toes and look at all of the colors, pink, purple, and rust red that accessorize the trees. I am surrounded by familiar sounds, the southern drawls of strangers, the chatter of my family and friends. There isn’t the need of a navigation system because I know where I am. I relish these days, in the place I was born and raised, because I don’t have to [...]
March 2010
I am a vegetarian, but sometimes I secretly crave pepperoni pizza. Those round eyes of red glare at me every time I am at a pizza place. I’ve never tried it, although, I’ve asked several of my pepperoni eating friends what it tastes like. They can’t provide any real points of comparison since I’ve never tasted meat, but all have replied that it’s a “spicy, good taste. You are really missing out.” I guess I will have to take their [...]
My husband told me my father passed away. “Check again, check again.” I plead with my husband. “Honey, there is no heartbeat. I feel no pulse.” He looks at me, hoping I would believe him. “No, you are wrong. You don’t even have a stethoscope. What kind of doctor can determine death without a stethoscope? How can you be for sure?” At this point I was screaming in between sobs, shaking my husband, asking him to check [...]
I don’t wake up at 6:00 a.m. in the morning, shower, and put on my business suit. There are no more conference calls or long discussions about legal statutes with my clients. My footsteps don’t click-clack through the metal detector at the courthouse and I am not perusing through my client files right before the Judge comes to sit on the bench. I am not collecting a paycheck, at least not the monetary kind. My morning routine is completely different [...]
“She doesn’t want to be my friend, Momma” my four year old daughter tells me one afternoon when I pick up her up from school. There are little tears on her face and she takes her forearm and wipes her runny nose. As I buckle her in the car seat, hearing the familiar click, she says again, “Momma, she doesn’t want to be my friend.” “Why?” I ask, afraid of the answer, wondering if I will be prepared [...]
I don’t think I will be winning an Academy award anytime soon. I will not be standing on a stage with my red or silver shimmery dress, thanking God and the Academy and my husband for my trophy as my colleagues and family cheer me on. I watched the Academy Awards telecast on Sunday night and as people clapped and cried through their speeches, I thought about when the rest of us, people like you and me, would have our [...]
I am so tired. The pillow is eyeing me from across the room, its cotton candy goodness, a soft place to lay my head. The bed is demanding, its layers of sheets perfect in its folds, like layered Kleenex in a tissue box. I can’t though, not yet. I’ve got responsibilities. There is a little one, yelling, “Momma!,” Actually she is screaming “Momma!” And then the questions begin, one after another, “Momma, can we go to the park today?” [...]
My husband and I are the proud parents of one daughter. I must have missed the memo, but for some reason having only one daughter has become problematic. In social settings, I will introduce my family and there is that one person, who will raise his or her brow, whisper with a little noticeable edge of scorn and say “You have only the one.” I don’t know exactly what that means, but I don’t like the way it sounds. [...]
