Category: Friends & Family

  • On running buddies

    Running friends are invaluable. When I first started running, sometimes the only reason I would even get out there would be because it’d be rude to cancel on the friend waiting for me. I knew this about myself so I was constantly begging people to run with me to keep me on track. Somewhere along…

  • All of a sudden, I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me to the side …

    I mentioned the awesome vibe of the Social Distortion concert in yesterday’s post. And it really was awesome. Which made this one guy stick out like a sore thumb. Not because he was wearing a polo shirt when most others were wearing black concert Tees and visible tattoos, but because of his attitude. He was…

  • Story of My Life

    This wasn’t a concert I would ever seek out on my own, but as soon as I heard about it I knew I was going. The band was Social Distortion, Jeff’s favorite (he first saw them 20 years ago), and the venue was the 40 Watt in Athens, Ga., a quick walk from Chris‘ place. …

  • From keg stands to bottle warming – where has the time gone?

    Years ago, I had an epiphany: Not only could I choose not to have children, but I would choose not to have children. My reasons for not wanting them could be called selfish. I took a look at adults around me that had kids, and those that didn’t – and I decided I liked the…

  • One blink, and it’s 1983

    Last night I dreamed I was 5 years old. I was at my parents’ old house on Silverwood Drive, the one with wood paneling walls and linoleum everywhere. My brother was a baby, sitting in his high chair, getting spoon-fed by my mom (ok, so he would have been nursing probably. My timing is off.…

  • What’s wrong with drinking bath water, anyway?

    Kids. I don’t have any. I don’t want any. But don’t say I don’t love them. I absolutely love them. I’ve spent the past few days babysitting for my nieces (ages 3 and 1) while Kevin and Jenn are on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico), and I have learned a few things about kids: =…

  • This weather makes me want to write …

    Ah, autumn. It’s that time of year again. The days get shorter, the leaves get colorful. There’s a bite in the air and the sun gets a little kinder. It’s bittersweet, welcoming the end of summer but knowing the cold is coming. It’s October, which means I better start narrowing down my story line for…

  • ‘People think I’m a player. Do you know what that is?’

    Adventures of couch-shopping and entertainment-center shopping in Charlotte with Colleen … Quotes heard from lovely salespeople themselves: – “The stain guard protects against wine, chocolate and bodily fluids.” – “You want a chaise on one end, 3 cushions, less than 90 inches? You will not find that anywhere.” (But we just found it at the…

  • It’s like riding a bike …

    Uh, that saying is so misleading. Riding a bike is so not like riding a bike. If you know what I mean. Quick background: I was one with my bike as a kid. Rode it for fun even, not exercise. Got a Schwinn in 8th grade. Stopped riding sometime around high school. Dug it out…

  • Losing a friend, and then really losing a friend

    It didn’t feel real to me when she died. It had been years since I had seen Anna, years since we had last spoken. Sadly, our last conversation had been a difficult one, and we had both ended up in tears. After that I had tried to put her and the high school drama behind me…