Children & Parenting
Birth Secret
In my dream, he told me to hold the secret of his birth safe & teach him when he forgot.
Bits of the World (feminine)
gathering up bits of the world & setting them out in an order that her children can understand
Bits of the World (masculine)
gathering up bits of the world & setting them out in an order that his children can understand
Bits of the World (no gender)
gathering up bits of the world & setting them out in an order that children can understand
Bigger Shoes
When I was young, I used to wear my father’s shoes & stomp around, making the world a better place for us all & today I see I’m not the only one who did that & those shoes aren’t anywhere big enough for who we are now.
Big Job
When do you get to be a grown-up? she said.
When you can read & write & lie without laughing, I said
& her eyes got big & she said she didn’t know it was that hard
Best Choice
If I have to choose, my son said, I’ll take them all. That’s no choice, I said. Obviously, he said, you’ve forgotten how choice works.
Better Childhood
It’s only fair when I yell at you, she said to me once. You had a better childhood.
Between the Noise
I yell way too much at my kids, but they’re smart enough to read between the noise.
Being Bigger
they only look small, she said, if you’re someone who’s fond of being bigger than everyone else
Belief
Can you prove any of the stuff you believe in? my son asked me & when I said that’s not how belief works, he nodded & said that’s what he thought but he was just checking to make sure he hadn’t missed a key point.
Believing My Father
I used to believe my father about everything but then I had children myself & now I see how much stuff you make up just to keep yourself from going crazy.
Belly Dancer
The singing on her belly dance records reminded her of the cattle auctions she used to go to with her grandfather & she would sing along softly, fourfiftyfourfiftyfour seventyfivegorgeous gorgeousgorgeous myohmy, she would say & then she would raise her hands above her head & ripple her body like trees in the wind.
Ballerina Mom
Whenever she stood in line at the bank, or while waiting for the bus, I noticed her feet. The right always in front & perpendicular to the left just so. Even after 2 children, she still dreamed of being a dancer.
Bananas
My great aunt told me once to remember that old people need bananas. I remember. Someday I will tell my sons.
Bed of Nails
I made a bed of nails once like they do in India, but my mom said I’d need my tetanus shots first so after awhile I just leaned it against the garage & threw apples at it & watched them stick.
Bad Trip
Monsters on an extended road trip
& you don’t know scary until you’ve seen America by car
Balance
If you had to balance as much stuff as I do, she said, you’d take an hour in the bathroom every morning too.
Ancient Kings
My grandmother kept a box of old photos in her attic & we used to go up there on rainy days & sit on the floor in the dusty light & go through them & she would tell about witches & broken hearts & how we came from royal blood & it was all there in the pictures, she said & then we’d lose the light & we’d all go downstairs for dinner & in our secret hearts we sat taller knowing once we had ruled the world.
Ant Gods
I dug up an anthill once & my friend told me the ant gods would come to get me in my dreams & I said I didn’t believe him, but later that night I went down & tried to put the anthill back together & I even added some lettuce & mashed potatoes & pork chop from dinner in case they’d been too busy to eat & I never heard from the ant gods, so I figure it worked out.