Duncan Canine Plague Ten days ago we abandoned our responsibilities (dogs) to venture south for the St. George half Ironman race. We left Duncan and Louie with two different friends because we've lived
Skylar The Winter of 2023 There was a time when I never looked at weather forecasts. I'd just live in ignorant bliss, letting nature happen at me, at will, and without even the faintest desire
House A New Couch I bought a couch about eight years ago on sort of a whim. I had just lost a case in court and was feeling numb, and so, still dressed in
Skylar I Need Quiet "Hi, honey bunz! I'm home!" Skylar screamed that on Tuesday morning at 10:30 as he walked into the house, his usual greeting, even if he's only just stepped out
Skylar Baby Birthday One of Skylar's closest friends got married in 2020. I don't know if you remember that year, but it turned out to be a very bad time to get married
Skylar Residency Last week Skylar told me he was going to have to start doing 28-hour shifts now, and I haven't check with a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal. I
Skylar 2022 I'll never forget watching the news one evening in February of this year. They were broadcasting from a dark Kyiv, just getting ready to wake up for the day as
Skylar The Glassiest of Lamps One of the joys of living in a house built by Christmas elves in the fourth century AD, is no standard furniture will fit anywhere. Nowhere is this more annoying
Skylar Tea for Two We were walking through the Portland airport on Sunday morning when Skylar burned his hand. His parents had just dropped us off. We hadn't been to Portland to visit his
Louie Boarding School A woman with a paw print tattooed onto her clavicle knocked on my front door on Monday afternoon. She was returning Louie, and I had been anticipating her in urgent
Skylar Humidifier Skylar's bounce in his step was bouncier than usual. I've learned to notice the signs that he's about to do something odd, inconvenient, or expensive. Heightened whistling. A quick pace.
Grandma G-Mac's Hospital Stay Skylar called me a couple of days ago. "So, I just overheard the name of a patient we were admitting and either there are two Darlene McCanns in town or
Skylar A Dire Situation It was in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday when I got a text from Skylar. "I'm sooooo hungryyyyyy" it said. He's been working long shifts at the
Skylar A New Sweater [Announcement: Strangerville Live will is this week, September 16 & 17. You can get tickets and find other info about the storytellers HERE [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/strangerville-live-tickets-395946957007]. Please come
Skylar Packing [Announcement: Strangerville Live will be September 16 & 17. You can get tickets and find other info about the storytellers HERE [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/strangerville-live-tickets-395946957007]. Please come so we
Skylar Emma A couple of years ago Skylar visited his friend Emma in Oakland. This isn't really relevant to this story, but I already need to pause here and let you know
Skylar Coffee Shop I just walked into the coffee shop—the same one where I go every day—to write. But it's hard. I get distracted. Distracted by the same people who are
Work Work From Home I started working from home in 2020. I don't remember why. Something something social distancing. Hard to recall events that long ago. By 2021, a lot of my law firm
Louie Our Monster A handful of dog claws scraped across my face and I could tell marks were already forming. This is how I was awoken from not-a-great sleep, a new daily tradition
Work Change I started law school in 2008, which may have been the worst possible year to start law school. The economic recession had hit the legal market hard, and when it
Travel Ceramic Fish We found it in an art gallery in a small town in southwestern Ireland—a framed ceramic piece featuring small blue fish swimming in a circle. I told Skylar I
EMBARRASSING Tesco We returned from two weeks in Ireland and Northern Ireland last night. It was lovely. We ate potatoes for every meal. Skylar now thinks we are going to name our
Skylar Friends in Ireland We were standing on the side of a street, waiting to cross it, when Skylar was robbed. The culprit was a man in grey sweatpants speeding through a busy thousand-year-old
Skylar King Bed A wet nose pressed into my neck. A moment later I felt the shove of four dog legs against my exhausted body. I inched closer to the edge of the
Skylar Graduation It began at 9:00 and ended three months from now. At least, that's how long graduation felt. I made the mistake—a regrettable misjudgment—to arrive promptly at 9:
