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Family
« More ResultsNow please excuse me while I tend the goats
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 When I was little, every Sunday, my grandfather would wake me up and we’d hop the 51C bus to Carson Street to attend our tiny church.
There weren’t many children, but every summer, they shipped the few of us up the mountains to Northern Pennsylvania for church camp. From ages 10 to 16, we would [...]
A visit with grandfather
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 “Hey, how old are you?”
“I’ll be 22 in two weeks, Pap.”
“Aren’t you married yet?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you get away from that dog and go meet some boys?”
Parents strongly cautioned
Sunday, November 11th, 2007I never cared much about family members stumbling upon this website. It wasn’t made particularly to keep anyone in touch with my life, nor was it a big secret that would shut everything down if discovered. With my site address plastered on the five o’clock news a few days ago, however, even my preteen [...]
A story of heart and penguins
Saturday, October 20th, 2007This is my sister, Molly. She’s 13.
Earlier this summer, before entering 8th grade, Molly found out that her best friend had a lump on her brain. A few weeks later, the lump was found to be cancerous. In these past five months, Molly has matured quicker and more completely than I thought possible in [...]
And so he’s leaving
Thursday, August 9th, 2007My cousin Mark, a soldier in the army, is being deployed to Iraq sometime next week. For a while, I was kind of impartial about the whole thing, which is terrible, I know, although I’ve always had the mindset that he was invincible. That, in addition to the fact that dialog about the war [...]
Roots
Monday, July 16th, 2007I went to a fair last night after work. It was big, for a church carnival. They had a massive fruit stand right in the middle of it, with all kinds of stuff, so I stopped to buy some. My feet were bare. I left the heels in the car and walked along the [...]
Conversing among the innocent
Friday, June 29th, 2007 The family sits around in lawn chairs, enjoying the 95-degree weather.
Aunt: “They say you’re supposed to spend three-month’s salary on an engagement ring.”
Derrick rolls eyes.
Rachel: “Yeah, I heard that in Knocked Up. Anyway, Derrick’s uninterested in the subject.”
Aunt (jokingly): “Well, you know, he doesn’t have to be the husband.”
Light laughter ensues.
Samantha, age 7, chimes [...]
Superior Partners
Tuesday, April 10th, 2007Qualities to be looked for and admired in significant others:
The ability to cut fruit one-handed
A family much different from one’s own
A desire to carry all of the grocery bags to the house
A similar desire to remove garbage bags from the house
A willingness to be the driver when traveling
Acceptance, or slight disregard of, excessive computer [...]
Domestic goddess, without the goddess
Friday, March 30th, 2007 I’ve always been somewhat domestic, but over the past few months, since the boyfriend and I got our own place, I’ve been less able to hide it. I’ve been nesting.
I hate that term, and cringe when referring to myself as doing so, but it’s something I can’t escape from. I recognize this but don’t [...]
Insecure Adolescent
Thursday, March 8th, 2007
I dropped my little sister off at her first middle school dance tonight, and it made me realize not only how I (sort of) miss those nights of awkward bobbing and slow dancing with five feet of space in between, but also how completely insecure I was when I was her age.
She had lacrosse practice [...]
My grandmother’s bus pass
Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 My middle name, Josephine, was my grandmother’s first name. I found out only recently that this wasn’t her real name, but a name she had given herself when she turned 18.
It turns out her father, my great grandfather, was so completely obsessed with Shakespeare, that he named his only child after one of the [...]
The whole winter thing? Not working.
Monday, February 26th, 2007 I’m becoming more sure that when I’m married, I’ll convince myself and my husband to move someplace in which winter doesn’t last for almost half a year. It’s not even the bitter cold that gets to me so much anymore, it’s just the nasty, rainy, constantly gray atmosphere. It’s severely depressing.
I bought some chocolate [...]
Special People
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007My little cousin Samantha, age 7, invited me to her “special persons” lunch at her elementary school this afternoon. I was completely flattered, especially since I was the only one there between the ages of 8 and 35. One of her more charming little friends walked up to me, among the crowd of parents, [...]
Animal Noises
Monday, January 29th, 2007 I had to transport my two rather large cats from my mom’s to my dad’s house tonight. Being indoor cats, they don’t really know much of the outdoors beyond what they’ve seen out the kitchen window, let alone speeding in a car through a busy city at night.
Being colossal, they’ve never really been the [...]
The Willow
Sunday, December 17th, 2006Even if I’m not in it
Thursday, December 7th, 2006 We’re expecting at least 15 inches of snow today. I walked to the university bookstore to sell back my history book. I liked that book. It had pictures from Ancient Egypt and the Renaissance. I briefly considered tearing them out to keep, but then remembered I was 20, and headed out into the blizzard.
I [...]
Conversation on marriage with my 6-year-old cousin Samantha
Thursday, November 23rd, 2006 “Rachel, you should marry your boyfriend.”
“Yeah? When should we get married?”
“When you’re 23.”
“Why 23?”
“‘Cause you know someone FOREVER by then.”
Day 11. Thanksgiving cheesecake.
Treasure
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006My great-grandfather was a writer. Actually, if his career had to be classified, it would be better to call him a worker. He wanted to be a writer. He also wanted to support his family. The latter overrode the avocation. He published only a couple books - on-location guides to cities that he knew [...]
Airport errand
Saturday, November 18th, 2006I’m currently sitting at Gate C56 at Pittsburgh International Airport, waiting to drop off my grandfather who will be spending Thanksgiving with my aunt in New York, and wishing that I could hop on one of the planes and take off to, oh I don’t know, Spain. But only for a couple days.
I like [...]
A Wedding
Friday, November 3rd, 2006This past weekend marked a very important event. Yes, I’ve been to weddings. However, this was not the marriage of a distant cousin, or a dad’s friend’s daughter, or a mother’s coworker’s son. This was the first time I’ve witnessed the union of a couple, both of whom were relatively the same age as [...]
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