The News

“Mom, I have some news for you.” I gulped, holding the phone.  It was a cold day in March, and I wondered what my boy, standing in his apartment seven hundred miles away in college was about to tell me. I remembered uttering those words to my mother as well, from my dorm room 100 [...]

Still Going

I wondered as I lay there in bed that cool, winter morning, where this all was headed. R snored noisily next to me on “his” side of the bed as I lay there, watching the clock, knowing I’d have to get up from my cocoon of warmth and comfort in a few minutes.  No sense [...]

Meeting the Parents

Panic rose fast in my chest as I saw R get out of the car and walk around to my side of the vehicle.  His parents?   I was mentally unprepared for the occasion. R opened my door.  “See?  I can already see you’re freaking out.  Think of it this way; if you had known about [...]

Sweetest Day Surprise

“But where are we going?” I persisted when R put the car in gear and pulled out of my sister’s driveway.  We’d just dropped off my son for the evening, because it was “Sweetest Day”. In the years since, I’ve discovered that Sweetest Day is a Midwest version of Valentine’s Day that occurs on the [...]

Ready or Not

“What’s up?” I asked R, perched on the sofa that August evening.  I had just returned from my annual trip to the beach with my father’s family, ten days of fun and surf and family time for me and Zach.  We’d rented a new place in a more family friendly area this year, and everything [...]

Sunny Days

“Well, where do you want to go?”   R was at the helm of the boat, leading us out of the marina and into the river. Not just any boat.  His boat.  It wasn’t a fancy boat, or a brand new boat, but it was a 27 foot cabin cruiser with two bedrooms and a kitchen [...]

Twice as Nice

“Where do you want this box?” I asked Dawn.  It was moving day for Dawn, out of my condo and into her own apartment, on her own with her kids.  It came just soon enough to save our friendship, which had been hanging on by the skin of its teeth for the last few weeks.  [...]

First Date

I should be more nervous, I thought.  But then, I was meeting this guy in a public place, with lots of people around.  I had my new “cell phone”, a Motorola flip that I bought for use at school, in my purse just in case.   What could go wrong?  It couldn’t possibly be worse than [...]

0 for 5

“You have GOT to be kidding me,” I said to Michelle as we walked to our cars together. My friend Michelle had taken a job teaching fourth grade at our school after her broken engagement last summer.  She was an amazing teacher who didn’t seem to be having as much difficulty as I had adjusting [...]

Not the Worst Thing

“Why exactly are you going to Lansing, again?” Paul asked. It was a Wednesday night, and Paul sat opposite me on the sofa, cracking open the bottle of wine he’d brought to share.   We’d been quietly dating for a month or so.  By dating, of course, I mean that Paul would arrive at my house [...]