Last week or maybe yesterday, my writing teacher, Anne, asked for a paragraph on what it is like to write personal essays while quarantined at home. Four pages and a glass of iced Effen blood orange vodka later, this is what I sent her. Noting after the fact the "a paragraph" stipulation. She graciously accepted... Continue Reading →
In pre-dawn stillThe wind comes once everyThree minutes, bellowing deep in the treesSlow, picks up speed, then stops. dark ghost trainwinds down, swapping arrivers fordepartersWhose gossamer trench coating shuffle wetLeaves adhere, our front window stained Chapel glass between worlds. Warm and dry,tamed storming, unpredictable rowdyTimetables of bluster and agenda, measures of syncopated nature, theruthless spiced... Continue Reading →
Somewhere between being born and being adopted, abandoned people learn that being pleasing means you're less likely to be left behind (again). If you're funny or engaging, kind, people might like you - you might even make some friends. If you're funny or smart or have some special talent or hobby, you might find your... Continue Reading →
After pulling back from reunion almost five years ago, I find myself wondering 1) how could I have handled that better and 2) was I supposed to set expectations or boundaries, and 3) is there any reparation to be made? For most of my life, making any decision was difficult and very uncomfortable. When open,... Continue Reading →
Entre. French for "in between"; not "entrée" like the main course of a meal. Freres, brothers. Soeurs, sisters. You can puzzle-piece the title of this post.One of many outcomes of my adoption reunion was siblings. My sibling tribe grew, exploded really, from one sister - with whom I was raised - to seven altogether. We... Continue Reading →
In the 1901 Directory of Social and Health Agencies of New York [State]..., Volumes 11-13; Volumes 16-19, in chapters titled Cheap Meals, Lodgings, and Baths and Reformatories for Women, you will find a listing for the place my first-mother stayed while pregnant with me. Despite decades between the first mention of this "Home" for unwed... Continue Reading →
A young male and a young female have sex. Years ago, a medium said my conception "feels like it was very...abrupt. And aggressive." I have no idea what happened only that the Female became pregnant. Male has no interest in 1) any relationship with the female past the one (was it more than one?) night... Continue Reading →
Raising a child while neglecting to actually Mother said child: Unmothering. Growing up, the moments of my adoptive mother acting like a Mother were scant. Mother and Mommy are similar but different; truthfully, I'm not recalling anything outstanding for the Mommy category, either. There were moments she acted like a Mother. Dependable, positive, pleasant and... Continue Reading →
October 1963, born. Immediately admitted into hospital; stay for three months until I am well enough to be relinquished.January 15, 1964, relinquished.January 1964, relocated to address Upper East Side, possible foster home.March 1964, admitted back into hospital.May 1964, out of hospital. Relocated to foster home in New Hyde Park, Long Island, N. Y.November 1964, adopted.February 1985, move into... Continue Reading →
