Category: mom

Kavanaugh Hearing a Trigger Event

Posted in co-worker, date rape, high school, marijuana, mom, movie, police officer, relationships, sexual assaultLeave a comment

My high school girlfriend’s little sister from Iowa told me this on Facebook Messenger yesterday. Because I had come out about my rape, she wanted to tell me about her date rape at age fifteen. This is verbatim and hard to read, but the world needs to know that this happens. “I really need to… Continue reading Kavanaugh Hearing a Trigger Event

The Racist and the Ficus Tree

Posted in California, entitled attitude, Ficus, garage sales, hairdresser, humor, Iowa, memoir, Millennials, mom, neighbors, racist, relationships, worstLeave a comment

When I was young, the one black boy in my elementary school was my classmate. His name was Teddy. This was white-white-white Iowa in the 60’s.  My first grade teacher, Mrs. Van Cura, got angry at the class one day for misbehaving and said, “Whoever doesn’t behave will have to play with Teddy at recess.”… Continue reading The Racist and the Ficus Tree

Don’t Date the Neighbor

Posted in California, children, control freak, dating, divorce, dogs, firsts, humor, last, mom, moving, neighbors, relationships, restaurant, toys, worstLeave a comment

Julie got divorced and moved into her new townhouse with her six-year-old son.  One day, when she was out walking her dog, a guy mowing his lawn turned off the mower and said hello. They chatted about her dog, and Julie mentioned that she had just moved in. Doug rode his bike a lot while… Continue reading Don’t Date the Neighbor

Her Left Foot

Posted in babies, best, California, childhood, children, daughter, emergency room, feet, firsts, holidays, hospital, humor, memoir, mom, nine year old, pain, parents, relationships, summer, worstLeave a comment

It was Labor Day weekend. We needed to get a handle on the mess in the garage. I asked my oldest to watch my youngest while we parents worked outside. She was nine, in 4th grade already for a week, and the baby was almost two and a half. Then a series of unfortunate events… Continue reading Her Left Foot

Landing In the Dog House

Posted in California, dog house, firsts, girlfriends, humor, independence, Iowa, jump off a cliff, junior high school, memoir, Midwestern, mom, popularity, relationships, retail, worstLeave a comment

When you’re in the dog house, you are in trouble. You’ve done something bad. As a child, I was never in the dog house because we didn’t have one. We didn’t even have a dog. My mother had her own strain of weird expressions that she said to us kids on a regular basis, probably… Continue reading Landing In the Dog House

A Girl, A Creek, and an Hour to Spare

Posted in best, board and care, California, cell phone, dogs, Facebook, humor, memoir, mom, nature, nine year old, relationships, treesLeave a comment

When my worker woman showed up Monday morning after having been gone for a two-week long vacation, I had a long list of to–do’s for her. I answered the door and found her nine year old daughter standing next to her. I said hello and went over the list with Kelly. I left to go… Continue reading A Girl, A Creek, and an Hour to Spare