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BFFs

Instead of scooting about on outings with folks, I’d write for hours only stopping to ask my dad if he wanted salami on rye for lunch. Making new friends, not jus mere acquaintances, took a back seat. In the past…

brown chocolate food close-up photography

Chocolate Covered Zen

Not that I had intended to forego chocolate altogether, but I had hoped to be satisfied with a square or two of a Hershey Bar – not a meal consisting of a pound bag of peanut M&Ms. I made a…

The New Old Me

I myself realize I have let myself slip into the negative column of Cosmopolitan ‘Do’s and Don’ts.’ I am born with straight hair and chubby legs. Mom dresses me in darling pinafores with matching socks. Firstborn, you know. Through elementary…

Youth Dew

I started wearing Youth Dew in my mid-teens, delighted to find a scent that didn’t wear off in five minutes. I can’t remember who introduced me to Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew, but it was love at first whiff. Youth Dew…

black and white box on brown wooden table

The Saga of Home Improvement Drama

It all started with ten little words: Honey, I need to make a quick trip to Lowe’s. My husband, Eric, is quite handy around the house. His current home improvement project is putting up and finishing the dry wall in…

Learning by Giving

Being someone whose appearance was often considered sketchy at best, (hair never behaving, being too shy to smile), feeling beautiful in something was rare. As a child, I never cared about clothes – until a certain pale blue sleeveless organza…

woman in black shirt lying on white textile

A Color to Dye for

As I stared into the mirror, old age began staring back at me, and I sure didn’t like the looks of that old geezer one little bit. When I was a boy, I wanted to be just like my Dad,…

What Lies Within

The chore seemed overwhelming since my wardrobe has expanded to cover three different sizes: yesterday, today, and wishful thinking. Remember Carrie Bradshaw’s dream closet in the movie Sex in the City 2? We all oohed and aahed in the theater…

selective focus photography of hanged clothes

Wardrobe “Dis”Function

Another shirt had watermelons all over it and some man in a grocery store line had the nerve to tell me he loved my melons. I admit it. Sometimes I feel like I am only half woman. You see I…

black leather bag on red sofa

The Tao of a Couch

That couch became the background for Christmas photos, dozens of birthday parties, bridge-playing get-togethers, garden club gatherings and countless occasions through a score of years Any decorator worth her myriad of swatches would advise reupholstering, at a minimum – slipcovers,…

My Great Escape

I long to read my book without fear of being interrupted by conversation, phone calls, or ding-dong doorbells. Viewers snicker at a prominent insurance company’s television ad campaign. In the commercial, as Cheryl watches her she-shed burn down, she vows…

sliced bread on plate

Out to Lunch

Because I know her parents don’t approve of her having candy, I took her aside and in a conspiratorial tone, I said, ‘Georgia, if you poop in the potty, Ama will give you candy.’ My college roomie from 45 years…

What’s Wrong with You?

You see, I’m single – single and 37. And the thing is, as crazy, sad, or hard to believe as it may sound, I’m happy – fulfilled, even. Juggling paper towels, toothpaste, and a six-pack of Pellegrino (or was it…

Thank You, Sister Friend

When I entered the conference room, I hoped no one could tell my knees were shaking, as I approached the twenty-five writers seated at four long rectangular tables laden with laptops, yellow lined tablets, and pens. It had taken two…

spaghetti on stainless steel cooking pan

Beyond Spaghetti

I asked my mother why she broke the spaghetti. I expected some culinary explanation that had evolved from years of experience in home cooking. I was cleaning my home office for at least the fifth time in a month. How…

person writing on a book

A New Grading Scale

I’ve been keeping this list for years. And I’ve never gotten an A. Not even once. For ten years, I was an elementary school teacher. I taught kindergarten for a year, second grade for two years, and the rest of…

A Real Pain?

I was bleeding from razor nicks, my man’s chest looked like a baby’s bottom, I instantly began to itch, and she was sorry. Not nearly as sorry as I was. I thought I was indestructible, invincible, invulnerable, a real superman –…

Find the Good in it

Next, I had to psych myself into thinking positive. Yes, I have cancer but I am not in pain, I am still going about my daily life doing all the things I love to do, and I’m able to spend…