Before I get to the main story, I should take a moment and start from the beginning ( Read more... )

Don't do drugs, kids. Yeah, I know that's obvious. But prolonged use really kills your bain cells. My father is a perfect example. How that man is still alive astounds me. How he never ended up in jail boggles my mind. It defies all odds ( Read more... )

A collection of invitations and events from over the years:

Come one, come all*
to the greatest ball
you ever saw!
That's right.
Our dear prince Ben
is no longer ten!
So help us make his eleventh year
One that is so very dear.
*Please be sure to bring a gift valued at no less than $100. If you are unwilling to do this, please refrain from ( Read more... )

The first time I remember moving was the summer of 1991. We moved from Jacksonville, Florida to a very small town in the middle of Georgia that rarely shows up on any maps. I was seven years old. The real estate agent was taking us to visit potential houses and my parents were leaning towards a large, 3-bedroom ranch. I was running up and down the ( Read more... )

I was learning how to dress myself, but the sleeves were tricky and dinner was getting cold. "You know what," my father said, annoyed. "Nevermind. I'll just do it ( Read more... )

When you grow up in the middle of a storm, you eventually stop noticing that it's storming ( Read more... )

You're four years old when you experience death for the first time, only nobody really explains it to you. Maybe they do, but your four-year-old mind can't grasp the concept. All you know is at the funeral, you're told "Shelly's sleeping" and when you go to her house a few days later to play with her brother, you're confused as to why Shelly's not ( Read more... )

There's a curse that's been set upon the Smith* Family Vacation. We're not sure who it is we pissed off or what we did to piss them off, but someone seriously hates us. I'm not kidding ( Read more... )

She knows she's in trouble when she hears the front door slam, followed by the unmistakable sound of something small and not quite soft thudding against the wall. It hits her in that moment. She left her shoes by the front door again. She runs out to the living room to try to diffuse the situation before it gets out of control. The splash of mud on ( Read more... )

I was twelve years old when my great grandmother turned 100. She lived in Illinois and up until the summer before, I lived in Florida and then Georgia. We moved to Delaware the summer of 1994 and I met Grammy C for the first time ( Read more... )