I believe in Bunco. As a trailing spouse, I’ve lived in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Morocco, Boston, New York City, and Jacksonville, North Carolina. What’s a trailing spouse? Well, I followed my husband around the world for his career. We took our possessions, worked, traveled, and had children in these places. While it sounds exciting, when we arrived in a new city or country, I felt apprehensive about meeting new people. But through a game called Bunco, I was able to make life-long friends and gain valuable knowledge about the local community. Bunco is a dice game. It requires little ski ..read more

I believe in movie theaters. The first time I went to a movie theater, I was about 6 years old. My parents took my brothers and me to the Rowland Theater in Philipsburg to see the original Disney version of 101 Dalmatians – it was around 1969. I remember sitting in the balcony. I remember a night scene where a car was barreling down a road with a network of dogs barking. I was scared and I was fascinated, and, doggone it, I couldn’t see the whole screen. There was a bar that ran across the front of the section, and it cut through the middle of the screen blocking my view. I had to keep scoochi ..read more

I believe in party dresses. My mother and I both use clothes to make a statement. For 26 years, my mother, Margaret Simmons, worked as a high school home ec teacher. She can sew anything: business suits, wedding dresses. She must have altered a hundred prom dresses over the years for her students who were not conventionally sized. My mother loves fabric in bright colors, purples and reds. But she went to work every day in rather conservative business suits. That was her cry for some modicum of respect from school administrators who thought nothing of interrupting her class to get a cup of coff ..read more

I believe in licking the slug. The time I licked a slug has become a story I tell over and over again to my friends. Even though we laugh about it, it’s actually become my guiding life philosophy, which is: if you’re curious about something, find out. If you want to try something, do it. Licking the slug taught me that curiosity is one of the best traits humanity has, and we should use it to its full potential. Starting when I was eight years old, I spent a few weeks of every summer at a Girl Scout camp called Camp Redwing—a place where the scenery was beautiful, the songs were loud and fun, a ..read more

I believe in licking the slug. The time I licked a slug has become a story I tell over and over again to my friends. Even though we laugh about it, it’s actually become my guiding life philosophy, which is: if you’re curious about something, find out. If you want to try something, do it. Licking the slug taught me that curiosity is one of the best traits humanity has, and we should use it to its full potential. Starting when I was eight years old, I spent a few weeks of every summer at a Girl Scout camp called Camp Redwing—a place where the scenery was beautiful, the songs were loud and fun, a ..read more

I believe in nursery rhymes. Do you remember the saying, “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back?” You probably heard the rhyme in elementary school during recess. Or maybe you heard it on your walk home from the bus stop at the end of the school day. You probably didn’t know why anyone said it, but you swore by it. I, for one, in any setting, also followed this golden rule. Whether I was going to the playground for a fire drill, or if I was just out walking with my parents, I still skipped over the cracks. It may have required me to take a few extra-long steps or take an awkward pause in m ..read more

I believe in nursery rhymes. Do you remember the saying, “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back?” You probably heard the rhyme in elementary school during recess. Or maybe you heard it on your walk home from the bus stop at the end of the school day. You probably didn’t know why anyone said it, but you swore by it. I, for one, in any setting, also followed this golden rule. Whether I was going to the playground for a fire drill, or if I was just out walking with my parents, I still skipped over the cracks. It may have required me to take a few extra-long steps or take an awkward pause in m ..read more

In my hand I hold a box of Clairol Root Touch-up in Black, chanced upon while cleaning my dresser drawers. I check the expiry date—it is still valid. And it is calling my name. I look in the mirror, I take a deep breath. This is—or was—my “just-in-case box,” to be used in-between salon visits in case I was invited to a party, had an important work meeting, or had to travel unexpectedly. In a mere 10 minutes, it would mask the unsightly roots I could not bear for anyone to see. It remains unopened, though, because I stopped coloring my hair about a year ago. My decision to go grey wasn’t a femi ..read more

In my hand I hold a box of Clairol Root Touch-up in Black, chanced upon while cleaning my dresser drawers. I check the expiry date—it is still valid. And it is calling my name. I look in the mirror, I take a deep breath. This is—or was—my “just-in-case box,” to be used in-between salon visits in case I was invited to a party, had an important work meeting, or had to travel unexpectedly. In a mere 10 minutes, it would mask the unsightly roots I could not bear for anyone to see. It remains unopened, though, because I stopped coloring my hair about a year ago. My decision to go grey wasn’t a femi ..read more

In my hand I hold a box of Clairol Root Touch-up in Black, chanced upon while cleaning my dresser drawers. I check the expiry date—it is still valid. And it is calling my name. I look in the mirror, I take a deep breath. This is—or was—my “just-in-case box,” to be used in-between salon visits in case I was invited to a party, had an important work meeting, or had to travel unexpectedly. In a mere 10 minutes, it would mask the unsightly roots I could not bear for anyone to see. It remains unopened, though, because I stopped coloring my hair about a year ago. My decision to go grey wasn’t a femi ..read more