Morning three at my mom's house in Huntsville, and it started with me crying and not being able to drag myself out of bed for an hour. I finally pulled it together for a run, then Mom and I went to "See Rock City," as the red barn and bird house signs advertise. It was lovely, despite the overt tourism and piped tranquil soundtrack coming from ( Read more... )

I don't want to get into all the gory details of the last week. Suffice to say: it's been rough. I've learned some very important things, like if you say, "I want to drive off a cliff," to a medical professional, they will not let you drive anywhere. In fact, you may find yourself in the Psych ER, then a group home because your only friend in ( Read more... )

Whoops! Haven't posted since the last day of February... So, what's been going on ( Read more... )

We're attending another funeral today. Since my aunt's passing in November, L's mom, J's father, and now L's 2nd family's grandmother have died. There was also my ex's friend, who died of an overdose. Unless someone else's number is called, my grandfather is most likely next ( Read more... )

Every Christmas my mom upheld the tradition of giving my sister and I matching pajamas. We were expected to change into said pajamas Christmas morning so that we would be extra cute while opening the rest of our presents. Obligatory photos ensued ( Read more... )

On Tuesday, November 30th--my first day back to work after Thanksgiving with L--I was let go from the job. I worked there exactly 6 weeks and in that time said, "You need a lawyer," at least 3 times a week. I suppose they finally got the message. The reason given was that they were "going in another direction." A lawyer direction, I reckon. ( Read more... )

 “Metaphors are not to be trifled with. A single metaphor can give birth to love.”
-Milan Kundera, in The Unbearable Lightness of Being

And what metaphor shall I use to give weight and context to this unexpected weekend of death and family? Medea? Saturn? For surely if ever there was a devourer of children, it was Suzanne. Bald and brutal in ( Read more... )

My Aunt Suzanne died on Monday after a long struggle with ALS.  She was 65.  Her last two years were particularly devastating; my cousin said she had never seen someone suffer so much.  For the end of Aunt Suzanne's suffering, I am thankful.  As for the pain and drama associated with her hateful last will--in which she banned her eldest daughter ( Read more... )

Mom received her (belated, but well worth the wait) Mother's Day present today. I wrote her a book. I wrote her a book about her. Yep, it's full of memories, stories, fun facts, notes, and even the family joke (ask me when you have some time). Essentially, I sat down with a small blank book and filled it up over the course of a few months. ( Read more... )

It occurred to me yesterday, while drying my eyes over various horrific, sad, or bittersweet scenes in Hotel Rwanda: since I've been single on purpose (again), I only cry because of movies, books, or particularly emotional news articles. This phenomenon has been greatly aided by cutting out shitty members of my family, the last one circa Nov. 2008 ( Read more... )