Category: Family
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Under the Wallpaper
where the newly plain walls smelled of Pear Glacé, a heavy lotion I’d steal and lather over my legs, stretched across celadon carpet that reeked of sneakers worn without socks.
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Han Solo
He was the baby of our family, and he wanted to be seen and heard. One boy vs. three girls. I remember one time in the mudroom of our grandparents’ home, I was sitting on the couch and he was being playful. He had this small white bear dressed as a clown with spotted dots…
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Rapunzel
You were gold-spun hair and tiny limbs and big, expressive hazel eyes, and dare I say, gold-spun skin?! You had pixie dust in your bloodstream, and it wasn’t from all the handmade princess dresses in the perfectly curated closet your mother kept for you. It was just you. You were only three in these memories…
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Cenerentola
When I was very, very little, I have a memory of being very, very sick and being held by my mom, who is (by all definitions) the best mom in the entire world. She didn’t panic when you were hurt. She flew into calm, focused action. The type of mom who attacked you with kisses…
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a Bee in the Sand 🎧
Collecting moments from a snippet or a slow scene, as if they were rocks I could turn over in my hand and spot their individuality the way the light catches on one or the coarse texture of another. I want to look at them all at once and line them up, just to say: This?…
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Summer Baby
It’s too cold for late March in Tampa. I want to be hot. Not in a climate change kinda way (zero waste / vegan, please). I want my skin exposed to warmth wrapping around me. I want the privilege of knowing that whatever space I put myself in can be cooled when I feel like…
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You’re number one 🎧
One of our clients has Alzheimer’s, and her children are having to put her in memory care. I also learned that, unbeknownst to her, she has stage four brain cancer. Sometimes I wonder how I ended up in a career like this—one where life events pop up often enough to force you into a headspace…
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Chickadee 🎧
I woke up two days ago thinking about the way my Grandpop Tom sounded when he called us “chickadee.” He was an aeronautical engineer who spent World War II repairing airplanes on base in Morocco until the war was over. But I remember him differently (as a child might) since we lost him to cancer…
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Dream Logic
I’ve been having weird and vivid dreams lately, which is one of my favorite things. What makes them more frequent? We know increased REM sleep is usually the main thing. When our sleep cycles are consistent, this can happen. Another cause can be stress or anxiety, or even sleep disorders that make a person wake…