Ohmygosh today.

(And this summer in general)

<3

If we could all turn into cats, more of us could fit on Jeff's lap. But more of us would die as roadkill, which would be really sad.

I am aware. I am so aware. The humid night air awakens my skin. I want to spend hours appreciating each branch on the still-bare tree. I want to kiss every inch of this thick sky tonight. I want to taste it. I want to lie in the wet grass and close my eyes and listen, letting each small sound soak through me and resound to my very fingertips. I can ( Read more... )

(1995?)

I’m in my Uncle Gene’s room. I don’t come in here very often. There’s a cross on the wall. I ask him what it is. He says it represents a miracle. I’ve heard the word miracle before, but I’m not sure if I know what it means. I ask him. He says a miracle is like, if a million people were in a stadium and all of them died except one. This makes ( Read more... )

(December 5, 2008)

My grandma is in the bed closest to the window, her head cocked at a strange angle, her face swollen and red. Grandpa tells me to go see if she’ll respond to me. I’m not entirely comfortable with this, but I go to her. As I move closer, I notice that her chest is convulsing slowly, her lips are moving, gasping for breath ( Read more... )

(1997-2002)

I’m sitting in class, but I can’t concentrate on what the teacher is saying. My body is stiff. I can’t move, because if I move, the fire alarm will go off. I can’t pay attention, because I know that at any second, any second, the loud scary buzzing could break the quiet. My muscles are tense. Any second. Constantly on guard. I just want ( Read more... )

(July 27, 1997)

It's a hot summer day at my Grandma Taylor's house. Something is happening. The adults make me stay in my dad's bedroom with the black walls and the slanted ceiling and the scary posters of skeletons. I know what happened. Jake is dead. Jake is my dad's dog. He is a lab. I wonder if my dad is crying. He liked Jake a lot. I wonder if ( Read more... )

(1998)

A lot of the boys like me. When we line up to leave the classroom, they all kiss my hand. Blake and Brandon like me especially. I'll have to choose one of them, so we decide that the best way to handle this is for them to fight over me. I feel like a beautiful princess. A prize.

Now it's recess and I realize that they're really going to ( Read more... )

(August 5, 2006)

I wake up and can’t speak. I can hardly even whisper. I try and try but no sound comes out. I’m in Chicago at

Angie’s grandparents’ house. It’s the day of our performance at Second City on the main stage and I have

lost my voice. I don’t know what to do. This is horrible, but I know I’ll figure it out.

Angie helps me to explain my ( Read more... )

I am on my bed when I see something high up on the opposite wall. Something small. Something moving. Something black. Oh no. The spider is very quick. I don’t know what to do. My mom is already in bed. I wake her up. She doesn’t have her contacts in, so she can’t help. I find the spider spray. I have to do this myself.

I’ve never deliberately ( Read more... )