My Aunt Rose Ann used to call me Miss Piggy when I was a baby. She used to bring me toys every time she visited until my mom asked her to stop. My mom said that it would make me expect to get a present every time I saw her. My Aunt Rose Ann was … Continue reading She slept in my bed
I was almost 18 when I knew for sure that my Bubbie hated me. I was visiting her on a sunny Saturday at the end of summer, days before I started college. Earlier we had gone shopping for dorm room supplies: pillows, a trash can, a shower caddy, that sort of thing. The purchases sat … Continue reading Maybe I hated her, too
When my sister, Kim, was about 13, if I remember correctly, she and my mom took a trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Now, this was five years before I arrived, a few years before my mom even met my father at the pawn shop where they both eventually worked. By this point in her life, my … Continue reading I know a monster who lived in Scranton
When I was a kid, we celebrated all the holidays. Our menorah went next to the Christmas tree, and our Easter dinner often included ham and matzoh. Go ahead, laugh. Just don’t judge me. Let’s generalize and say that I was formally, publicly, Catholic. I attended Sacred Heart Elementary, where I learned to love Jesus, … Continue reading Losing my religion
“Where’s my brown-eyed princess?†he called as soon as he set his hat on the rack and tossed his coat over the banister. His voice reverberated throughout the small house, now all the more a home because of his arrival. He kicked his wet shoes off into the mat and loosened his tie, unbuttoned two … Continue reading All dads should play pony
“I’m not going to be able to give you your birthday money anymore,†Bubbie announces over egg rolls. Her announcement has a finality to it. As always, Bubbie is not messing around. I look at her blankly, say nothing. It’s my twelfth birthday. I’m celebrating with my mom, my aunt, and my grandma at the … Continue reading Today’s math lesson: Money = Love
As part of Yeah Write’s 31 Days to a Better Blog series this month, I did a little free writing this week. I learned that I have a ton of ideas. Ideas are literally pouring out of my mind faster than I can remember to write them down. I filled a page of my journal … Continue reading I have a lot of ideas
Today I’m going to tell you a story about my grandma. My mom’s mom. She was Jewish, so I called her Bubbie. When I was really young, before I went to school and learned about Jesus and other things that made her uncomfortable, she loved me. She took me places–the bowling alley, the zoo, restaurants, … Continue reading Did your grandma ever make you rinse with Listerine?
