I waited five months for this. Over 150 days I yearned and dreamed and sustained myself off the idea of it. My own place. With Jay. Two bedrooms. A large kitchen. A loft in Philadelphia all our own. Last Tuesday, after the movers came, the cleaners cleaned and everyone left, Jay and I sat […]
Yes, I had nightmares—children do. After all, it takes some time to get used to being alive. And how else, except in the clarity of dreams, are you supposed to see the world all around you that’s hidden by the light of day? —Deborah Eisenberg Exactly eight days until I officially move out of my […]
Novelist Gertrude Stein said, “Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” I never really cared for that quote until I realized it was happening to me. I had a call with a friend a few days ago. She told me I didn’t sound like myself, like she could […]
Being Boring by Wendy Cope ‘May you live in interesting times.’ –Chinese curse If you ask me ‘What’s new?’, I have nothing to say Except that the garden is growing. I had a slight cold but it’s better today. I’m content with the way things are going. Yes, he is the same as he usually […]
Donna was always dressed. She wore what was appropriate for the hour of the day. She dressed for dinner. She liked well-tailored boys’ suits. If you went to her room at four A.M.—she was an insomniac—you’d find her sitting at her desk, smoking a cigarette, wearing a perfectly pressed white shirt buttoned to the top, […]
Ballet is more than a profession – it is a way of life. – Margot Fonteyn Awhile ago a friend and I were talking about religion. She belonged to a church whose ideology was based on the idea that there is no one ideology – God cannot be found in one form. As a teen, […]
Q: Do you admire Elegance? A: Yes, because it makes you feel better. It’s a form. I’m very attached to certain forms, like compulsive rituals. I like to cook; I like to sew. They’re peaceful things, and they’re an expression of caring. The interview question above is answered by Joan Didion. I passed it while […]
In 1816, twenty-year-old Mary Shelley and her husband traveled to Switzerland for a summer vacation to the home of their friend’s house, Lord Byron. For three weeks, however, the weather was so bad, so fraught with storms and high winds, no one was able to leave the house. With a few other guests staying with […]