I want, therefore I am.

Don’t give me the look. Don’t look at me at all.

I won’t make eye contact anyway.

I am teenager. Hear me roar.

I still won’t look. But I see all around me and they all have more.

So I want more. Of everything.

Won’t it complete me?...

All that glitters is not gold.

He shone brightly, but then was dulled.

I had such hopes, was flying high.

Oh well, but still, my dreams won’t die....

I had a sudden moment of clarity. These are not my people.

If you looked at this scene, maybe as a passerby, or from a helicopter up above, you wouldn’t think twice. I was at a dinner with my husband and two other couples. All lovely people. And I say that with complete sincerity and not a hint of my usual sarcasm. I cannot emphasize that enough.

It probably should be stated that though introduc...

Magic is what happens when the sun rises.

It’s the gift I was afraid I wouldn’t receive.

I open my eyes. I am alive.

That is the magic.

It is received.

Magic. Another day beginning....

I tell myself this is temporary, not forever.

He has no words, but rage speaks volumes.

I’m stepping over his life to get to the real him. He has strewn his life all around. Clothes, books., games...stuff. Disorder and unwillingness to fight our worst temptations.

For my teenage boy, each day is a dog year.

That is what a pandemic can do.

What if the pandemic ends, and the rage stays?

I tell ...

Oh, how I hate working on the holidays. November all the way through New Years is the most painful time of the year. I know I’m supposed to be all jolly, especially working in kids clothing at a rather large department store with benefits, but man, it’s sheer pain.

I will say, the pay is great, I do overtime, and I simply keep my eye on the paycheck prize. Working on commission helps, and that i...

It began as a day like any other. Margie was getting the kids ready for school and Dan was getting ready. It didn’t occur to anyone that Margie might want some time to get ready too. Heck, it barely occurred to Margie, since it would mean she’d just have to wake up earlier, and that was simply not an option.

Then all hell broke loose. They heard a large crash, like a large window exploded.

A lar...

She’s sprawled out next to me. I don’t have her sense of smell, but i smell her. I don’t have her acute hearing, but I hear her. We are so connected, I just know her. We are calm together.

I suddenly remember my appointment, and the rush to get ready begins. She feels my agitation before I do, and it is unbearable. She feels my pain, urgency or joy beyond what I can imagine.

I am her world. Is s...

Sami just stared into space. Yet again. She had her whole work area set up for high functionality- there’s the laptop with the Hemingway stickers placed appropriately on the cover, phone nearby but off for premium concentration, and of course, the proper accompaniments- headphones, latte, and a half eaten blueberry muffin. It was all picture perfect for writer on the move.

The only thing missing ...

Overwhelmed.

Collapsed from the darkness.

Can I find strength in my extremities?

They lead me down the path, but I simply cannot go any longer.

I simply cannot....