feelings

o man

i spent all saturday with my friends’ son (and my friends too). we looked at pumpkins and apples and llamas and we read and we rolled around in the grass and i hung him upside down and he chased me and we played soccer and we laughed and giggled and laughed and laughed. he asked “why?” i said “because it’s nap time because the sun says yes because i can because you can because i searched for animals because she’s your sister because you’re a big boy because my arms are tired because that’s what my grandpa taught me because you win because your mom asked you too because don’t move because you’ll get sand everywhere because you’re silly because i’m wearing boots because i said cheese because i’m tired because you’re making me laugh because i don’t know where that is because we shouldn’t tell your mom or dad because i live too far away from my nieces and nephews so i’m adopting you as my local nephew.”

i gave him some cider donut and red velvet cupcake. (i told his parents.) he tucked his hand in mine. i fell in love with him all over again.

 

writing

6 word stories

our homework this week is to write a 6 word story. an autobiography, if you will. our inspiration was this story by ernest hemingway…

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

and so without further ado, here are my submissions.

Born prematurely. Still arriving places early.

Greenville. Phoenix. Flemington. Harrisonburg. Somerville. Cambridge.

Long distance family. Large phone bill.

what’s your 6 word story?

feelings

october noises

a hideous screeching vibrating wailing screaming came through my radiator. louder and louder. i froze. if i moved, would my whole floor collapse? i tiptoed out into the hall where other curious coworkers asked what was going on. “i think we’re going to die,” i said. G, who gets startled just from running into people in the hall, said, “i’m going to go figure it out,” and walked into the dark stairwell. “i’m not going down there,” i said, but helpfully turned on the light. this was an october noise. nothing good could come of it.

i’m supposed to be in charge while my boss is away. guess the bosslady badge doesn’t come with courage.

G reported back they were putting up a light fixture in the mailroom. the noise we heard was drilling.

a new bagel shop opened up yesterday. i need to test it to see if my “i only get bagels in NJ” rule stands or if i can make an exception.

i am a “woman with the hips for laughter.”

feelings

scrambled

the heavy cloud coverage kept my room dark and too many nights in a row of too little sleep kept me in bed too long this morning. after waking up from falling accidentally back to sleep post alarm, i hustled through my morning routine. i was interrupted by a text from my boss who is not in the country. it was a semi-frantic text, which matched my own semi-panicked morning.

him: My phone isn’t working internationally. Could to talk to it asap.

me: Talk or text?

him: No cell service at all. I’m on wifi at the moment…

he continued on with details as i pondered why he wanted me to call his phone but kept giving me details about how it wasn’t working and what he’d tried to do so far. it wasn’t until i was in the middle of drying my hair that i realized he meant IT the department not it the phone. he wanted me to talk to the help desk on his behalf, not call him. everything made sense now. i quickly texted him i officially understood the problem despite my original question sounding like i knew what was going on…side note: i’m so lucky to have a boss who laughs at my moments of stupidity instead of docks me for them.

now that my brain was no longer scrambled, it was time for eggs and emailing the help desk. then, when i could avoid it for no longer, i walked to work in the pouring rain with a broken umbrella. maybe the IT department will take pity on my soaked clothes and prioritize helping my boss with his international crisis.

feelings

thoughts raining from the clouds

i always burn my tongue whenever i’m eating pizza or soup. always. you’d think i’d learn. today is a soup day, though, all soggy and dreary and chilly bones. two days of a tender, burned tongue is a fair trade for warmth and coziness amidst a gray day.

a friend is coming to visit this weekend which means joy, excitement, fun, and before that, all the cleaning. i’d call myself a tidy person, but not necessarily a neat person. dusting is truly annoying and vacuuming pointless. dishes, however, i never let sit. they’re a pain to wash meal in and meal out, and so letting them sit is the worst offense of all because then the food, crumbs, and stains grow into the plates and pots and pans and that’s no match for a sponge. dishes get done immediately in my household.

we’re nearing the workshop portion of my class and the fears i’d thought i’d set aside are blinking themselves awake.

and yet, i’m also considering submitting a piece to an online journal. my teacher said we should aim for rejection so if you get something else, it’s a pleasant surprise and if you don’t, you’ve reached your goal. the only time my writing’s ever received a yes was when i applied to the MFA program.