The Musings of a Pacific Northwest Scribbler

Category: As a kid

  • Yes. I Cry A Lot

    I cry a lot now. Both of my parents are dead, and even though our family was dysfunctional, I miss them more than I know how to explain. There were times I wondered if I was loved—if I was just the pain-in-the-ass kid, half-hidden in the family, tolerated more than cherished. But even then, somewhere…

  • When I was 14…

    I was 14, fresh into ninth grade, and already in my second identity crisis. We’d moved from Washington to California right after elementary school, so at 11, I got the double-whammy of being the new kid and hitting puberty at the same time. Truly living the dream. In California, I was the girl from Washington,…

  • The Fun Part of Family Stories: Love, Beer, and Boarding Houses 😍😍😍😍🍻🍻🏠

    These are my great-grandparents, Harry and Bessie. Great-grandma Bessie was born in October of 1898. And great-grandpa Harry—whom we lovingly referred to as Hare (yes, like the rabbit)—was born in January 1920. You do the math. Go on, I’ll wait. Yep. A solid 22-year age difference. Needless to say, tongues were positively flapping in the…

  • 🎒 School Pizza Fridays: A Love Letter to Square Slices and Unapologetic Seconds AND sometimes 3rds!!!!!

    I was in elementary school, back in the 70’s- and like clockwork, every Friday was Pizza Day—an unofficial national holiday in our cafeteria hearts. The pizza came in massive sheet pans so big they probably had their own zip code. It was cut into glorious rectangles—not triangles, we weren’t animals—and we were allowed seconds and,…

  • Coleslaw Trauma: A 1974 Odyssey

    I’ve never liked coleslaw. In fact, I’m pretty sure coleslaw and I are mortal enemies. My dislike didn’t sprout out of nowhere; it’s rooted in an event so traumatic that I’ve banned coleslaw from my life ever since. It all began in the summer of 1974, a time of wood-paneled station wagons, questionable décor choices,…

  • When I Turned Nine

    Turning Nine Dad was larger than life. Anyone who knew him would agree. He had this uncanny ability to fill a room, whether it was with his booming laugh and sparkling blue eyes or a sharp glance that could freeze time itself. He was the kind of man who didn’t just show up; he arrived.…