It was bound to happen sooner or later. I turned 57. Thought about what that meant for more than a few moments. First, I thought about it numerically: 5+7=12. 12÷2=6. 6÷2=3. 1+2=3. 6×2=12. Now, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but to me it seems that 12, 6 and 3 all have something […]
It all started when I glanced at those pictures on my phone. I have too many of them and I’d thought I’d delete a few hundred. This way, I’d have room for a few hundred more. There were so many pictures I had no use for anyway, like photos of something I thought about purchasing, […]
My son doesn’t get it. After years of nurturing, suggesting, pushing and prodding, plus throw in a healthy dose of nagging and arguing, my son refuses to grow up. Chrissakes, the kid’s 18. And a senior. You might think he’d have some idea of what his like should be looking life in four months. Sure, […]
Music is my ground, my constant, the thread that connects my past to my present. I track my life’s journey to what I’ve listened to. It shaped me, influenced me, and still does, to this day. It’s how I see myself and through it, I gauge others. Mom started it. She’d been performing on the […]
It comes over me unexpectedly sometimes. Today started off all right. Was in a pretty good mood when I began my shift at Phipp’s. Sure, there was a chorus of crying babies, but then again, when isn’t there? A flat filled with boxes of household cleaners and soaps awaited me. Wasting no time, I dug […]
Thirty years ago I joined a gym, ostensibly to quit smoking but in reality, to check out the scene. Jack LaLanne ruled back then, inviting flabby sorts to get fit. I wasn’t really flabby, but I didn’t have a stellar set of muscles, either. But maybe I’d find a new set of muscles to go […]
Let’s not get into how one suspects one’s marriage or coupledom is over. Let’s just start with the reality that it is. No more talking about it with each other or through counseling. Blame accepted or denied. You wake up and your partner isn’t tucked under the covers, breathing softly. The house is emptier, with […]
So I get up this morning and get ready for work. Over coffee, I see this horoscope by Eugenia Last in my morning paper: Tidy up loose ends, and do your best to get ahead. An unexpected opportunity should be taken advantage of. He who hesitates is lost, so get moving and take what belongs to […]
Working in retail is not for the faint of heart. Seriously. One must brace oneself against heartbreak and disillusionment with society, and humanity at large. Thankfully, my coworkers are right there with me, ready to listen to the latest tales of incredulity. We all suffer abuse regularly, but we’re used to it. Tough, even. G’wan, […]
Screaming children. There’s always screaming children. And bouncing balls. Those are left abandoned in some of the oddest places throughout the store – resting of bottles of Ny-Quil, stuck in between carpets, snuggled between bath towels. Or there’s screaming children bouncing balls, largely ignored by their parents, hoping the kid’ll stop whining about not getting that ball, much […]
Confessions of A Middle-Age Woman 