As a wife and working mother of three boys – 15, 11, and 5 – it’s difficult to meet all the needs of the people in my life. Because I sometimes travel for work, I’ve missed some pretty important events – a couple of birthdays, an anniversary, and some band recitals come to mind. During one trip to New Mexico, I remember receiving a call on my cell phone from the childrens’ school that my 11 year old had thrown up and was in the nurse’s office. Could I come pick him up? This wasn’t the first time I’d received a call like that when I was hundreds or thousands of miles away and it surely won’t be the last. “Ummmm….” is my standard response, quickly followed by “did you try his father?” I don’t even know why I’ve listed myself as a contact on the school’s paperwork at all sometimes.
Author: Erica
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Smell of Old Spice
My mind is wandering, a thing it often does when I’m sitting in front of a blank, gaping page. I’m trying to force it down a certain path – find a topic, I’m saying to myself. Find something serious, current…what’s happened recently that I can write about? It won’t listen, though, my mind. My mind has a mind of its own, I suppose. It has continued to wander back to my childhood like a stubborn child who sees a new toy in the grocery store and with sudden, unexpected strength, grabs hold of the attending adult and drags the parent towards the toy. Write about this, it tells me. I don’t know why it wants to write about this foggy, childhood memory. It is nothing extraordinary, just a snippet of time and a glimpse I cannot even guarantee is true. Regardless, it demands to be released.
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What Would I Do Without Squidoo?
Ever had one of those days at the office where you think to yourself, “If I can just make it to the car, I’ll be fine.” Ugh. That was today. If I were Steven Spielberg I couldn’t have orchestrated it to go any worse. Actually, it’s been a rough couple of days.
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I Think I’m Selfish
Every day when I leave work, I call my husband to let him know that I’m on my way. It’s a habit that we’ve followed since we seriously started dating around 8 years ago. Some days it’s just a quick “hey, I’m on my way” and some days it’s an entire conversation that lasts until I get into the garage at home.
Today, we weren’t a minute into the call and my blood started boiling. I could feel myself getting tense, even mad. And what would set me off so? One little comment – “I was going to call you earlier today for the password to your laptop but I figured it out so I’ve been using it outside today.”
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Bugs in Arizona
I was born in the NE, lived a great deal of my life in the Pacific Northwest, and now live comfortably just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. I am the only member of my immediate family not to live in the same town back East and while I miss them terribly, Arizona suits me. I do not enjoy driving in snow, shoveling in snow, or living with constant drizzle and gray skies. I inherited from my grandparents a passion for sunny days and bright blue skies.