On Friday night I put the final period on my first novel. I have written a book. An entire book.Three years in the making (but four months of highly concentrated working). This semester, I submitted fifty pages of my novel for each of my four packets. If you remember, last semester I only wrote eighty... Continue Reading →
whites in waves
All we do is hide awayAll we do is chase the dayAll we do is lie and waitAll we do is feel the fadeI can count on one hand the people I know who aren't fading. People who are vibrant: not resigning themselves hopelessly to roles and ruts, to pessimism.In a longer video for this... Continue Reading →
oh hill
Oops, I did it again.That hill half marathon.When I told my brother about it he said, "why did you do it again?"I did it again because it is an amazing feat. An accomplishment. A real pushing-my-body-to-the-limit.Steve did it with me this year. It was nice to have someone know the pain and agony but also... Continue Reading →
old mom
My little sister has birthed a baby. A little girl named Aviana Jaye. She is so tiny, so loud. I never worried once about getting Baby Fever. Unless it is meant in the literal sense of a fever, accompanied by a headache and fatigue. Babies are not my jam. New moms have it really rough. Those... Continue Reading →
five
Brandon Jude, Somehow or another, five years have passed since the day you made me a mother. A different one this time: a mother with a child to care for.You changed me, as I suppose everyone I know changes me, but in a different way. In a more intense, permanent way. You taught me sacrifice... Continue Reading →
songs of Q117
When I write, read, run, or drive I listen to music. So basically all the time. A song will always remind me of a slice of time in my life. These are my favorite songs in 2017:Love on the Brain - RihannaWhen The Stars Come Out - Chris Stapleton Southern Girl - Amos LeeLa Cienega... Continue Reading →
mixed drinks
Another song I play on repeat, wishing it was longer.Country music tells a story. You can hear it here: first his story, then hers, then theirs. Need a little background noiseTo drown out this little voiceRunning circles 'round my brainScreaming louder than the painMy head is spinningMy resolve is reeling
three
For 1096 days, this one has been squirming and screaming. Smiling and snarling. Getting into things. Getting out of them. Talking non-stop every minute he's been awake. Being a best friend to his brother, being the best lover of me. If you could hear the way he says, "I'm so excited!" you'd be excited too. His squinty-eyed smiles make my... Continue Reading →
bring joy
I rely on myself a lot. I pull myself out of funks. I self-medicate with yoga and running and writing until I can find myself again. I live in a place far from where I'm from. I don't have the camaraderie that comes with an 8-5 job. I make friends, but then the keeping part is... Continue Reading →
teaching each other
Yesterday, I told my friend I haven't taught my kids anything. That everything they know is from a book or TV or the iPad or preschool or each other. But of course, although they have learned from other sources, it isn't true that I haven't taught them anything. Why, right saying after that, I taught... Continue Reading →
holly pelesky 