Overcooked Parenting

Evelyn took the video game controller out of my hands and replaced it with her own.“We’re swapping, that way you can’t yell at me anymore,” she said. I wasn’t yelling—just repeating myself at a volume somewhere between “I need a manager” and “something’s clearly amiss” at a restaurant table.Which, in my defense, it was. SheContinue reading “Overcooked Parenting”

The Gentle Leash of Love

With a purple, tear-shaped pick pinched between my thumb and the outer middle knuckle of my pointer finger, I strum. My shoulder and arm move like a tendon pulled too tight—a rubber band with barely any give—jerky and unsure. I hyperfocus on my posture, the micro-corrections, much like I imagine a professional golfer does rightContinue reading “The Gentle Leash of Love”

The Sweetness of Not Knowing Better

I thrust my hand into my pocket—into my cheetah-print, thick and soft sweater with large hanging front pockets like Grandpa’s robe. It felt like Santa had come. I expected to find a hundred-dollar bill. Expected is too strong. Hoped for? Pleaded and cried out to the gods? I must miss those days. Last night’s dreamContinue reading “The Sweetness of Not Knowing Better”

Seeing Saturn Clearly

Unfortunately, I cared about being cool. Calvin Klein and Doc Martens swaggered their denims and waffle-shaped soles across the maroon-and-yellow-speckled floors of my high school, and I drooled. I studied the Rogers sisters, the home football games at Pete Pool, searching for clues. Wear your hair in a side part. Go to the tanning salon,Continue reading “Seeing Saturn Clearly”