Hey Darling Ones, In an odd bit of serendipity, the audio version of Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics I had on hold at the library came in a few hours before the physical copy landed on my doorstep. The actual physical object is heavy and beautiful and I’m so glad I own it. Because my life is nothing but waiting for opportunities to share Dolly Parton fun facts* with people, I dove into that audiobook this morning as…
Holy buckets, Darling Ones, I did not expect it to feel this good. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m pretty jaded, bitter, and cynical.* I’m wary of all things that might make my ice robot heart feel hope. However, today I cannot keep the joy out of my bones. I bawled my face off when Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office. It was beautiful, moving, and inspiring. For me, it started right away this morning. I woke…
Hi Darling Ones, I’m coming to you just back from the brink of death. Or at least that’s what it feels like. I somehow managed to poison myself with food last night. Of all the magical thinking I engage in (and it’s a lot), the most magical is the belief that food will be edible until I’m damn good and ready to eat it no matter how long it’s been in my fridge. Today I spent most of the day…
Hello Darling Ones, Thank for indulging my toxic loneliness yesterday. I felt much better after writing about it and getting those feelings outside myself. Much as I suspected, despite my negative attitude, dinner with The Youths & The Olds did my heart good. It also did my heart dirty, and I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I have to tell you that my nephew, Maxwell, walked in carrying a giant poinsettia. “Is that for me?” I asked. “Yep,…
Hi Darling Ones, I woke up in a pit of loneliness and despair on Friday and I have yet to climb out of it. I’m trying. This weekend I’ve done all the things one should do: I exercised, I ate vegetables and fruits, I read books, I sobbed my face off over the death of Rayna Jaymes on “Nashville,” I wrote thousands of words while listening to Matthew Sweet, I practiced, I slept like a champ, I showered, I talked…
Hi Darling Ones, Today is my nephew Cade’s nineteenth birthday and it has left me shaken and sad. I’m doing my best not to fill the Tibble-shaped hole in my heart and life with tears. I’m not totally succeeding. I recently read Liz Phair’s memoir Horror Stories, which I did not totally love. However, she had this great line about being adopted, “It was also a snapshot of a fleeting moment of wholeness, before I carried in my heart this…