Category: high school

Q is for Quirky

Posted in California, Carmel, college, dancing, fashion, fraternity, high school, mom, Nebraska, quirky, sorority, stay-at-home mom, thrift store, wingtip shoes2 Comments

When I was in high school and bought some of my clothes at the DAV thrift store, they called me quirky. When I made a cool pair of bell bottom jeans out of my dad’s old work pants, they called me quirky, but they also asked me where I got them. When I broke tradition… Continue reading Q is for Quirky

C is for Choices

Posted in attitude, babies, best, bucket list, California, cats, childhood, choices, chorus, climate change, dating, dogs, ex-boyfriend, expectations, friends, gender, high school, humor, memoir, relationships1 Comment

Life is a series of choices: what to eat for breakfast, what college to go to, which person to marry, whether to see the cup half full or half empty. It’s much easier to look back at life and say what choices were good or bad. Whatever they were, they got you to where you… Continue reading C is for Choices

Get Some Facetime

Posted in California, cell phones, high school, humor, memoir, Millennials, relationships, school, school shooting, student march, vote, waiting roomLeave a comment

(re-run) As I stepped into the waiting room at my chiropractor’s office, three women and one guy were looking down at their cell phones, sitting in a symmetrical pattern amongst the u-shaped chairs. Feeling giddy from my fifty-five minute massage I said,” Well, this looks like a blog post to me! You’re all on your… Continue reading Get Some Facetime

That One Exciting Childhood Friend

Posted in butterflies, carnival, childhood, cornfield, grandma, hickies, high school, humor, Iowa, memoir, shopliftingLeave a comment

We all have one, the childhood friend that pushed us out of our comfort zone, for good or for bad. Mine moved in across the street in third grade. She was fun, she was daring, she was blond. That next summer before fourth grade we played and played.  Troll dolls were all the rage. I… Continue reading That One Exciting Childhood Friend

The Benefits of a Hard Childhood

Posted in childhood, dysfunction, firsts, friends, generation, high school, humor, immigrants, labor, memoir, Pioneer seed cornLeave a comment

My childhood friend from Iowa called the other day. As we were comparing notes about our dysfunctional childhood households (hers with physical abuse, mine verbal), she mentioned the immigrant caravan at the border. “What are going to do about that?” she said. “Let in the women and children,” I said.  “I’m not sure about the… Continue reading The Benefits of a Hard Childhood

Two Dates, Two Dolls

Posted in babies, best, cancer, dad, dating, daughter, dolls, feet, flirting, high school, humor, love, marriage, memoir, play, polio, relationships, weddingLeave a comment

He was tall and lanky. She was short with a great smile. They were the leads in the school play at Des Moines Tech high school in 1947. They flirted on and off stage. They even had a kissing scene. Joanne knew Bill was the one. Bill asked her out. On their first date, he… Continue reading Two Dates, Two Dolls