Here’s a true story as I stare down the barrel of 41. It’s been so long since I logged into this account that I forgot a) my password and b) the new* WordPress format of adding headers, layout, body, etc., etc., etc. (*From maybe early 2020, sigh.) Is 41 old? Is 41 when you start to yell at technology changing too quickly? Don’t answer that. So much has changed here. And so much has changed HERE. At the end of {Read More}
December 31st, 2020, a year that definitely happened.
December 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment
2020 “Oh gosh,” I hear you mutter (from a distance of at least six feet away), “A tidy li’l 2020 wrap-up? You shouldn’t have.” (Really, I won’t.) (Not too much, anyhow.) Because, friends, this year…defies a tidy li’l anything. (And, yes, I state this from a position of dizzying, boggling privilege. Even from this sky-high perch…it ain’t tidy.) At best, it’s been an upending kinda year. At worst, it’s been the stuff of nightmares, the stuff that’s made the noun {Read More}
The story of the puppy.
October 25, 2020 By Leave a Comment
(Because if it’s not documented on the blog, do we really even have a puppy?) I grew up with not-quite-puppy dogs. My childhood was filled with slightly older rescues. Also dogs who were babies before I had entered the picture. And eventually my parents adopted a pup or two after I had exited the picture. P.J. had dogs, too, loyal family pets and veritable baskets full of shiny, licky, Golden Retrievers. But when we moved in together, we had cats. {Read More}
Chicago to the Berkshires, Part 4: WTF Movers?!
August 6, 2020 By Leave a Comment
Part 4. Part Four?! Movers. Here’s the thing about movers. …Why. Why are they like that. (And oh my goodness, we’re SO CLOSE to the end of this saga! Related: Can you believe that I’m still blogging about this nonsense? You should see me in person. Theoretically, if we were able to have parties, I’d be real real fun at parties.) So. To catch up: Our moving “specialists” were jerks with a phone call returnability record akin to my middle {Read More}
Chicago to the Berkshires, Part 3: We Actually Leave.
July 30, 2020 By 1 Comment
Yes, people, we finally leave Chicago in this latest installment of We Are Never Moving Again. Now, where were we? Ah yes, we were seven hours into what was already promising to be the longest move of our lives. And our movers had brought the not-at-all-agreed-upon truck. And our “moving specialist” had gone radio silent. (Earth silent, really.) And the heart-wrenching day of Meaningful Goodbyes was quickly turning into a fire sale. Because. When the moving broker finally deigned to {Read More}
Chicago to the Berkshires, Part 2: So, moving brokers?
July 23, 2020 By Leave a Comment
OKIE doke. So. Can we talk about moving brokers in this one? Previously, on Chicago to the Berkshires (Part 1), our heroine found herself in a weepy puddle of nostalgia, compounded by a very real timeline of leavin’ town, with a nice dash of “haven’t slept for days n’ days” to really punch up the bawling. I think I did a fairly good job of portraying the feelings and emotions and everything else ramping up to the move…but what of {Read More}
Chicago to the Berkshires, Part 1: Goodbye, first home
July 16, 2020 By 2 Comments
(Today marks three weeks since we arrived at our new home in Massachusetts. More on THAT to come, because hoo boy. But for right now, a surprisingly/not super surprisingly hard one to write. I began this post the week before we moved but had to stop because…I had to stop. Stay tuned. Thanks in advance. Buckle up. Keep hydrating. And, you know, wear a mask.) An open letter to my home: Hey home, I know I’ve said some things in {Read More}
My goal for 2020? To take care of others- and myself
December 10, 2019 By 2 Comments
Exactly one year ago, I weighed 117 pounds. I was in severe pain; my belly, my ribs, my brain. For a month, nothing was “officially” wrong. Blood tests were fine, organ functions were skipping along, and- if you disregarded the fact that I couldn’t eat a thing- my doctors assured me that I was all good. I would wake up in in the middle of the night, weeping, panic gripping my chest, the knowledge that I was actually dying keeping {Read More}
