Melissa, Oh!

Category: Memory

  • A childhood, found 15 minutes away.

    It’s the 1980s and I complain as my legs burn against the sun-heated blue vinyl of Mom’s Oldsmobile. We are getting ready to head to The Complex, where we go almost every day during every summer that I can remember as I child. The perfect place to cool off – a huge indoor pool (my…

  • The time I was a security guard

    A memory No, really. I’m not kidding. It was the summer of 1998, and the boys at the fraternity house down the street were working for a security company that needed hands for their upcoming Stevie Nix concert. Looking back, it’s hilarious that the boys decided to call the sorority house for “backup security” but…

  • This post is not about running

    Soooo … as you know, I’ve been running a lot lately. A lot. And I’ve been writing about my running a lot because – well, that’s what’s taking up my time. But one of my loyal readers (Jeff) was kind enough to point out to me that I was blogging “an awful lot” about running…

  • My first 5K or When I realized I could accomplish something athletic

    In the latest edition of the together-but-separate blog postings, Amy and I are writing about our first athletic achievements. I started thinking about my first running accomplishments recently during a discussion with Heather about how to begin running. I remember the first time I ran a mile – it felt so amazing and accomplished! My first…

  • My first 5K or When I realized I could accomplish something athletic

    In the latest edition of the together-but-separate blog postings, Amy and I are writing about our first athletic achievements. I started thinking about my first running accomplishments recently during a discussion with Heather about how to begin running. I remember the first time I ran a mile – it felt so amazing and accomplished! My first…

  • A little green eyeliner goes a long way

    I wrote a blog yesterday in which I mentioned an old friend, Anna Klepczynski. I have wanted to write about her for quite a long time but had not yet found the voice – until now. I remember the first time I felt pretty. It was at my birthday party in the seventh grade. Seventh…

  • A little green eyeliner goes a long way

    I wrote a blog yesterday in which I mentioned an old friend, Anna Klepczynski. I have wanted to write about her for quite a long time but had not yet found the voice – until now. I remember the first time I felt pretty. It was at my birthday party in the seventh grade. Seventh…

  • Hot tub shopping on the day I lost a dear friend

    This isn’t as cool as eating a bologna sandwich beside Chevy Chase, but it’s a message I won’t forget any time soon. A memory One thing I’ve always hated about having pets is how terrible it is when it’s their time to go. When my parents’ dog, Sybil, died when I was in college, my…

  • When stars and Spin Doctors align

    I have known Amy since we were both 8, so most of our child and adult memories include each other at some level. Even if we weren’t there, we were there.  In fact, I wrote in one of my diaries in high school, about making out with a boy: “I couldn’t wait for it to…

  • Kiss and tell

    I have known Amy since we were both 8, so most of our child and adult memories include each other at some level. Even if we weren’t there, we were there.  In fact, I wrote in one of my diaries in high school, about making out with a boy: “I couldn’t wait for it to…

  • The time I fainted in the piercing parlor

    A memory In keeping with this week’s theme of body mutilation, I give you the story of the time I got my nose pierced. Susan and I are shopping one day when I mention that the piercing place next door is supposedly THE place to get pierced in Charlotte. I have only bought jewelry from…

  • The time I saved a life (well, sorta)

    A memory It is summer 2008, and I am visiting Chris in Athens for the first time since he moved there the week before. I am helping him unpack and get settled into his new place. The wonderful thing about a friend giving me free reign to his apartment (including deciding where the dishes will…

  • I cooked for him so he could cheat on me

    A memory It is 1995, and it’s picture day. The senior-year me has just been officially captured by camera, and I walk down the steps of the school auditorium, happy to be out of class and wondering how my photo looks. Sitting in one of the auditorium seats is Brian. I have been friends with…

  • One of the nicest brides I ever met

    A memory It is 2004, my first trip to Vegas and I will finally get to meet Jeff’s sole cousin, Ryan (I have a couple dozen cousins, so this one-cousinthing is a surprise to me.) Ryan and Robin are getting married one week before Christmas, and Jeff and I are full of excitement: A wedding, reuniting with…

  • Flashing boobs at wedding guests and other horrors

    A memory It is 2004, September 04. The day of my wedding. Any stress that goes along with planning one’s wedding had escaped me the day before, as I sat at Aunt Josies’ at my bridesmaids’ luncheon surrounded by Mom, Mia (my grandmother), my sister Jenny, my aunt and cousins and bridesmaids – basically, all the…

  • Unfinished rum is not trash

    A memory It’s 1998 and Erin has asked me to move into the sorority house with her for the summer. My first summer away from home! I borrow my parents’ Previa van and load up my belongings from my dorm room, then swing over to Erin’s dorm and we load up her belongings. One of…

  • Unfinished rum is not trash

    A memory It’s 1998 and Erin has asked me to move into the sorority house with her for the summer. My first summer away from home! I borrow my parents’ Previa van and load up my belongings from my dorm room, then swing over to Erin’s dorm and we load up her belongings. One of…

  • Busted for tapping on a boy’s window

    A memory It is 1993, the day before Christmas Eve, and I have told my parents I’m staying at Carmen’s house. She’s told her parents she’s staying at my house. A risky move, but one that has worked a few times. We are out playing all night long, driving around, hanging out with people at…

  • Old diaries, new perspective

    I decided very early on that I wanted to be a writer. Elementary school, in fact. I always wanted to be a novelist (and this year, I will be!) but around fifth grade, I decided that might be too difficult to break into the industry and be a bestseller, so instead I would “just” be…

  • A first love

    This is an attempt to capture with words the purity of a first romance … and the ability to reflect on it years later with fondness. A memory It’s 1993, I am 15 years old, and this is no summer romance. No, this one sparks during a snowfall and a power outage, and this one will warm me for…

  • A 20-year-old confession

    A memory I am 6 years old and in first grade. Jason is my boyfriend. I’m not sure how this happened, but it had something to do with my sticker book and two pigs kissing and I showed it to him and he liked it. Later I decide I don’t want to have a boyfriend…

  • Waffle House, an exboyfriend, and being 18

    A memory It is 1996, and we are seniors in high school. Brian and I had just broken up, so things are weird between us. Susan, Brian and I are at Waffle House, so it must be the middle of the night. I am so happy to just be in his presence, although I am…