Welcome to Amytown

When M and I were first married, the ink not yet dry on our marriage certificate, he began to act strangely. Instead of coming home each night after work, he went to his grandmother’s. “I am making her a plant stand,” he said. “She wants me to make her a plant stand.” Okay, fine, but when it was taking days, then weeks, I had my doubts. I had seen Grandma’s plant stands. A plant stand was a slab of Formica with a kitchen cabinet handle affixed to each end and casters mounted to the bottom. This allowed her to place tall plants in giant pots wherever she wanted in her house. She already had quite a few, built for her, I suppose, by her incredibly handy husband. He had passed away a couple of years before we got married, though, so I guess she needed another one and it was up to her grandson, who had inherited her husband’s mechanical inclinations, to make one.

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Headed Toward Divorce

It started off so, so good. We were constantly together. I loved the connection. I grew reliant upon it. I altered my lifestyle according to the nudges, the encouragement, and I was happy. Until I wasn’t. Until I realized that I was behaving in ridiculous ways just to avoid the nagging, the subtle comments intended to motivate but that really only induced guilt. Panic would set in if I didn’t conform to expectations. Really, who can live up to that constant pressure? It was time for, at the very least, a trial separation.

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Light’s Out!

Sometimes it’s not the technology that malfunctions…

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On Poeming

I have skimmed the vast galaxy of poetry on and off my entire literary life, but to be honest, I never felt like I truly understood it and I never developed what I’d call an appreciation for it, beyond the general idea that poets are mystical, magical creatures who bend words and ideas in ways the rest of us simply can’t. The extent of my own poetic efforts culminated in writing a series of snarky haikus with two colleagues during Poetry Month a few years ago. Enjoyable but not exactly worthy of sharing beyond our little trio.

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What I learned today: commonplace books

I learned something new today! I like to learn something new every day and this week that has included learning that there’s an animal common in North America called the pine marten, and learning that according to CDC guidelines there is a massive difference between two masked people standing right next to each other but not touching and two masked people standing right next to each other and touching. But that’s not what I’m writing about today.

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The Great Clean-Out of 2020

There’s a lot to reflect on the past year, clearly, for all of us. Most people, I suspect, would focus on the effects of a pandemic, people forced to stay at home and forgo many of life’s creature comforts. Or, for a too significant chunk of the population, a loss of employment and income, sometimes loved ones, in addition to housing instability, health risks, and more. I am fortunate in that, while we did experience a financial impact through M’s company taking action to ensure most of its workforce could remain on the payroll, it was minor and didn’t hurt. Well worth knowing other employees didn’t have to worry or panic.

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The Word of 2021

Finally found a word for the year. Let’s see if I can figure it out.

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