Hey, Dad. Ready for this? It’s been five years since you left us. FIVE YEARS. I assume that you’re aware of this through the ether- but I’m not exactly sure about how time works where you are. (That said, I’m not exactly sure about how time works where I am. Long story.) Dad, when you died, I thought I was the bravest I had ever been- had ever had to be. Working on your obituary, pulling together your collection of {Read More}
If 18 year-old Me saw me now. (A helpful primer!)
March 1, 2019 By Leave a Comment
20 years ago, I was a college freshman. I had plans back then, you guys. Like Plans in capital letters. I was thinking about this baby version of myself the other day as I was living my fully grown, decidedly non-college freshman life. This train of thought quickly turned to “Oh my goodness, what would 18 year-old Me think if she were plopped down into my 2019 day?” (I can’t be the only one who has thoughts like this every {Read More}
Three years later.
March 30, 2018 By 3 Comments
Hey Dad, It’s been three years since we last held hands, last watched James Bond and HGTV, and last joked about how much we could sell your pills for on the black market. (#regrets) Three years ago, I spent the better part of three months driving back and forth from small airport to small town (in big, big snow), wondering what “after” would look like. How could we possibly have an “after” when our hero was leaving us? I would {Read More}
The Dads I love on Father’s Day
June 15, 2017 By Leave a Comment
I miss my Dad today. (That’s a joke; I miss my Dad every day.) But working in social media with a constant stream of incoming PR requests, the tone this week has been decidedly “your Dad deserves this” and “how are you celebrating the father in your life?” It’s…hard. I think about how he always, always had the answer. And even if he knew what you were going to say and the roundabout way you’d get to your point, he’d {Read More}
Why I’m the worst at home renovations
May 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment
I’m feeling stuck. About what, you ask? (…After a moment where you wonder if I’m just going to go ahead and start rambling anyhow, so the polite thing to do is to offer a token “ask?”) Well, I’ll tell you. We’re getting a new kitchen floor. WHAT A BOUGIE-ASS THING TO BE FEELING “STUCK” ABOUT. (I know.) But here’s the thing; after almost eight years in this house and dealing with exploding sewers and marauding rats and folks attempting to {Read More}
The day my Dad sent trains to my son.
April 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment
I promise this is a true story. I don’t really talk about otherworldly moments a heck of a lot, because spiritual presences are a) intensely personal, b) intensely open to mockery, and c) intensely likely to cause a ton of introspective, overly maudlin writing about WHAT does it ALL MEAN. It doesn’t make for stellar blogging. That said, I believe the spirits of our loved ones are always around us (especially riiiight after we have a moment or two where {Read More}
Two years.
March 30, 2017 By 2 Comments
Hi, Dad. It’s been two years since you died. It’s weird; typing “died” feels so harsh, so final. Like it’s rude to acknowledge it in that word. But I’m not feeling particularly fanciful, so neither “passed on” nor “departed” or “shuffled off” are words that feel right to me today. Honestly, using “died” doesn’t feel right to me either, on a number of levels. I know I don’t have to over-explain this one; I never had to with you, pretty much {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}
