Just FYI: I had planned on posting a picture of Nora’s new turquoise hair because= summer and fun and life, you know? (And I still might, because it’s downright incredible.) And while her hair and her face and the life I enjoy with these tiny people buoys me up even in the darkest of feelings, my heart hurts today for the horrific, unfathomable killing of Black folks at the hands of police. It’s not new, although some are way-too recent, but it {Read More}
Sitting vigil on the internet.
June 16, 2016 By 3 Comments
I had a whole post ready to go for today. About senseless violence and targeted minorities and lax gun measures and horrific election reactions and about one sweet baby boy and his immeasurably grieving parents. And I couldn’t finish it. More often than not it feels like I’m sitting vigil with my ever-refreshing news feeds; click, scroll, cry, panic, rinse, repeat. Plus, let’s be honest. Absolutely no one in the world needs my feelings (in 800 word diatribe form) about senseless {Read More}
Birthdays and time travel.
June 9, 2016 By 2 Comments
So, this past Monday was my birthday. (And yes, we’re still talking about it, thankyouverymuch.) It was…perfect. It really was. Quiet. Fun. And wonderful, in the way that spending time with the people who appreciate you (even if they don’t mention it while you’re cutting their pb&js into geometrically exact triangles) is wonderful. Oof, 36 year-old Keely would be basically unrecognizable to 26 year-old Keely. (“So…you didn’t dance on any bars? Like, not even a smallish one?”) I was glad {Read More}
To my Dad, one year gone.
March 30, 2016 By 7 Comments
Hi, Dad. So, I miss you. You know this. I know you know this because I’m always telling you this. And you respond in the ways that folks who are desperate for signs are sure to notice; the warmth of a hand on a shoulder, a puffy, heart-shaped cloud on a completely clear day, a third playing of Boz Scagg’s “Lido Shuffle” on major airwaves in 24 hours… This first year without you has been gigantic. And endless. And lightning {Read More}
Rest well, Jef.
February 25, 2016 By 4 Comments
I’m not entirely certain what the saints and angels are up to these days, but they seriously need to lay off with the taking of the best and brightest souls. Jeffrey Smith died yesterday morning, after a multi-decades long battle with cancer (cancers, really), and a lightning-fast stint with hospice care. The hospice seemed so, so short- maybe in comparison with his unfairly long battle, but in actuality probably because there would never be a good time to say goodbye to this {Read More}
A tribute.
February 18, 2016 By 2 Comments
You know those people in your life, the ones who radiate energy and celebration simply by showing up? My Auntie Sandy was that person for me. For my family. For a crazy extended “family” whose very definition defied distance, thanks to the equivocal magic of the internet. We lost my Auntie Sandy last weekend. It was unexpected, incredibly cruel, and remains incomprehensible. When I heard the news, my first thought was- “What? No. I’m sitting here, making Valentines for my {Read More}
Guilt/Cookies.
December 3, 2015 By 3 Comments
And sometimes your energy and patience and faith in humanity is justallgone. And you look at a picture like this: And you see those faces, completely full of innocence, and you kinda break a little bit inside. Because you don’t want those tiny people to be shot in a public venue, in a private home, not anywhere, ever, and not when they’re grownup, either. You also feel substantial guilt because those faces are growing up in a home with more {Read More}
Puzzles, grief & yelling at screens.
November 23, 2015 By 3 Comments
My Dad and I used to collectively pull out our hair over puzzle games. We uttered angry, not-so-nice words at the computer screen while staring down images of Myst. We reveled in various games’ unlocked achievements, cascaded tiles, deciphered secret codes, and manipulated picture frames that somehow became castle keys. We had entire text conversations which consisted of “This level./I KNOW.” When my Dad first got sick, I sent him The Room, a stunning and immersive game- the kind that made {Read More}
