Month: March 2019

by

Finally Free

“Are you ready Sara?” my stepson Ethan called up to me.

“Almost. Give me five more minutes,” I yelled back.

I looked back at the screen, cursor hovering over the POST button on my blog. My article Little Me, sitting, waiting, ready to be released to the wider world. I took a few steadying breaths.

“I can do this. It will be good to do this. I’ve kept this memory a secret for too long.”

I re-read the first couple of lines for the thousandth time as anxious thoughts circled.

“What if people judge me? What if he finds out what I’ve written and gets mad at me?”

I’d spent hours working on the piece, reliving the shame-filled memory it described, trying to capture the depth of how it felt in words. I’d written and rewritten it, agonizing over how it would be received, wondering if I should share it with others and open my experience up to their critique.

“SARA!! We’re waiting!” my husband Kris called.

“Coming!” I yelled back, hurrying downstairs, hitting “post” before I could change my mind.

“What are we watching?” I asked grabbing a blanket and settling into the couch.

“Leaving Neverland,” Ethan replied as he hit play.

“It’s the two part documentary about Michael Jackson,” my husband added handing me the popcorn bowl.

I was aware of the film. In fact, I’d been actively avoiding it, afraid the accusations of abuse it contained would impact my love of Michael’s music.

“Just try it,” Kris said sensing my hesitation.

An hour later, Ethan broke in over the narrative, “Most people don’t think these accusations of abuse are true. Online, they’re saying these guys have testified for Michael in the past. They said under oath nothing happened to them. Why would they lie?”

“Maybe they will talk about that,” I half-heartedly answered, but in my own way, I already understood why they would lie to protect someone who was bad for them. I had done the same thing until an hour ago when I posted Little Me.

But–why did I lie? Why did I go to such great lengths to hide a secret? Those were questions I could try to answer, and hopefully learn from.

I lied because I was afraid of what the truth would reveal about me. But I also lied to protect him, the boyfriend who had caused me serious pain and self doubt. I lied because, at times, despite his cruelty, I still loved and admired him. Or maybe, I just wanted to save him, hoping that his redemption would somehow mean my own. I lied because my feelings were so complicated, so firmly rooted in the gray of life, I didn’t know how to process them and I was certain others wouldn’t understand. So instead I kept secrets, until, finally, I found the courage to write about it.  

After the movie, I lay awake wondering how my post would be received, and what the fallout would be in the coming days. And I imagined the men in the film feeling that same anticipatory fear. What would people say when the truth came out? Would they be compassionate or condemning? Would they only see the prior lies?    

“I watched the Michael Jackson documentary,” I said to my friend two weeks later.

“What did you think?” she asked.

“Well…” I said, remembering my blog-anxiety from the night we watched it, suddenly realizing how much had changed since then. I had started to laugh more frequently. I had more energy. I  no longer tried to maintain an illusion of perfection with my friends, making our interactions more authentic. I remembered how others had shared their experiences in response to my article, making me feel understood and less lonely. Most importantly, I felt lighter and more peaceful. Sharing my secret had released me from its tenacious hold.

I smiled at her. “I think in telling their truths after all these years– they might finally feel free.”

by

Charlie Brown

I adjusted my mask, wiping a bead of condensation off my upper lip with my tongue before settling it back in place. I felt my eyelashes flutter against the mask’s eye slits and began to count my blinks to pass the time.

“Oh look, it’s Charlie Brown,” Becky giggled. “Who’s in there? Is that you Josh? Mike?”

“It’s Sara,” came my muffled reply.

“Sara? I never would have guessed that! Why are you dressed as Charlie Brown? You should be a princess like the rest of us!” Becky squealed. I saw a flutter of glittery blue material as she twirled in front of me and felt a soft bop on my head before her twinkling wand broke into my line of vision.

I scratched the seams inside my shirt. The material felt rough, hot, and suddenly uncool.

“I hate Halloween,” I mumbled as I turned away and made my way to the back of the alphabetical line. Soon we would parade through the school to show off our costumes.

I shuffled shyly between Mark and Stacy through classroom after classroom listening to kids and teachers comment on various costumes. None of them were mine.

“I’m never dressing up again,” I whispered.

And I didn’t.

Until recently.

“We should get family photos,” my husband said one night, “to show our new blended family.”

I pictured the standard Montana family photo with a denim-clad family standing in a field using the mountains as a backdrop and wrinkled my nose.

“I don’t know babe,” I replied, “I’m game if we do something unique and different; everyone does the same thing here.”

“I’m up for whatever fun thing you come up with,” came his reply. “You will think of something. I know it.” I watched him fire off a quick email to a photographer friend before he settled in and fell asleep.

I lay awake in the light of Pinterest’s glow, scrolling with indecision and the pressure to find the right idea.

“What if you wore costumes?” came an errant thought hours later.

“I hate costumes.” I answered myself.

“Maybe it’s time to stop letting an old memory keep your fearful. Be brave.” the niggling thought pushed back.

“I suppose,” I admitted.

A few weeks later we stood in a graffiti-covered parking garage, steampunk costumes on, laughing together. From my top hat, to my gear accessories, to my fake leather pants and cane, I was completely out of my element.

“This is fun,” my stepson said, adjusting his mask.

“Yeah, good idea Sara,” my stepdaughter seconded. I smiled at them.

“Now, just pop your hip out Sara. Own it. Add a little flare, get into character,” called the photographer, bringing me back to the task at hand.

Her lights flashed, highlighting the word ‘thug’ scrawled in pink spray paint on the wall near me. I focused my gaze back at the camera.

“What the heck,” I said leaning on my cane and popping my hip to the side. “I’ll do it for you guys…and Charlie Brown.”

by

Slivered Almonds

I surveyed the ingredients on the counter, comparing them to the simple recipe pulled up on my phone. Satisfied I had everything, I turned on the burner, filled a measuring cup with slivered almonds, and dumped them into the pan.

“Here goes nothing,” I said to the little dog at my feet.

Earlier that day, knowing my cooking skill limitations, a friend had given me the task of bringing a bag salad to our gathering that night.  Determined to fancy up the bag of butter lettuce chilling in the fridge, I had decided to make candied almonds.

“Let’s hope replacing brown sugar with regular sugar doesn’t mess anything up. Think that will work?”

The little dog cocked his head in response. I took it as a yes, and dumped the sugar into the pan, sprinkled in a little cinnamon, and picked up the spatula.

“Stir continuously for 5-7 minutes until toasted. Do you think they literally mean continuously?” I asked him. Met only with silence, I turned on a timer and began stirring.

Cooking has long been my nemesis. I am beyond uncomfortable in the kitchen. The loosey-goosey nature of cooking directions does not fit my desire for perfection and precision. Burned bread, chewy chicken, soggy vegetables, and other less perfect meals had caused me to hang up my apron years before.

“See where trying to be brave instead of perfect gets me?” I asked my little companion. “At least no one is expecting anything more than a bag of lettuce from me if this is an epic fail.” More silent staring and a tentative tail wag.

I glanced at the timer. Three minutes to go. As far as I could tell nothing was happening in the pan. I watched the almonds cut trails through the sugar, wondering how the two would ever cling to each other.

“Maybe I should have added butter.” A few thumps of the tail and the small butt wiggle he reserves for his favorite things. “You like butter?” I asked. More wiggling.

Turning back to the pan I noticed that the sugar seemed to be melting. As I stirred, it began to coat the almonds with a light sheen. Soon a little smoke and toasted almond smell emanated from the pan.  

I glanced back at the recipe.

You can tell the almonds are done when you start to smell the toasted nut flavor and the sugar melts completely, coating the nuts.

“But there’s still two minutes on the timer,” I said to my little helper. “Do you think they’re done?”

I turned off the heat, certain burned almonds weren’t what I was going for.

I spread them on wax paper to cool, hoping they would cool into crunchy bits of deliciousness.

I cleaned the kitchen to pass the time, eventually returning with my companion to the almonds.

“Well, here goes nothing. You want to try it first or should I?” I asked him. He let out an excited whine. I flipped him an almond in response. It was devoured instantly.

“I’m not sure you’re the best judge,” I said, “you didn’t even taste that.”

I picked up my own piece and popped it into my mouth where it dissolved into a lovely blend of sweet and crunchy.

“We did it!” I yelled picking him up off the floor and spinning in a circle. “We actually did it!”

Later that night I gathered around the table with friends, enjoying our last dinner together before one moved across the country. “Where did you find the almonds for the salad Sara? They’re delicious.”

“I made them,” I replied to stunned silence.

“You cooked?” she asked. “But you hate to cook. Why the change? Because you’re learning to be brave, not perfect?”

“Yes,” I answered. “And because I’m going to miss you. You are absolutely worth facing my fears for.”

by

Little Me

**Sometimes being brave means sharing past life moments I’ve hidden for years. This blog tells of one of those moments.**

There’s a small crack on the wall above the door frame. If I wasn’t staring numbly at the wall, I wouldn’t notice it. I briefly wonder if someone once slammed the door so hard it cracked the plaster, or if it was something more benign, a simple settling of the earth.

The crack moves out of focus as my eyes fill with tears. Refocuses as I blink them away.

Outside the door, I can hear his voice, rising and lowering as he talks. A chuckle here, a softening of his tone there. He is pacing in the hallway, unhurried and unconcerned with how I’m feeling inside the room.

I can’t make out the words, but I don’t need to. I am familiar with the tone. It is the sweet one that hooked me two years earlier. Now, that tone tells me, he isn’t checking in with a babysitter about his kids, he’s talking to a woman he’s been intimate with who happens to be watching his kids.

I’ve been that girl. I’ve watched his kids a lot. I almost feel sorry for her. I’m certain she doesn’t know he’s here with me.

Uncertain of what to do, I grab my empty glass from the bedside table and head for the liquor bottles, determined to get my money’s worth at our all-inclusive resort and to keep the pain at bay. I fill my glass with rum and top it off with a small splash of coke from the mini fridge.

As his laughter seeps through the wall, I slide open the door to the porch, grabbing the cheap wooden pipe we bought from a vendor on the beach. It has a rudimentary carving of a frog along the side. At least I think it’s a frog. He hadn’t sprung for one with a clear carving, saving his limited funds for a bag of cheap Mexican marijuana purchased in the backroom of a store selling colorful trinkets and souvenirs. His one financial contribution to our week away.

Setting the glass down on the table, I crawl into a chair, pulling my knees to my chest, trying to make myself as small as possible. I raise the pipe to my lips and flick the lighter, take a deep breath, inhale.

A couple resort workers walk by, laughing as they head to their cars. Their shift is ending as day turns to night. They don’t see me sitting in the corner, tucked into myself. Their laughter feels out of place, the wrong soundtrack for the moment.  

As I take a swig of my drink, the first negative thought breaks through.

“He is talking to another girl while you pick up the tab for a first rate vacation! How stupid can you be?”

A drag of the pipe, another swig of my drink.

“My how the mighty have fallen. You thought you had it all together. Had all the answers to life. How’s that working out for you now?”

To stop the negative voices, I picture myself as a little girl. It’s a strategy I’ve used before. Little me is too young, innocent, and small to speak harshly to. Little me was good enough. Often I picture her standing beside me with a comforting hand on my shoulder, as if the power of her potential and innocence can stop my negativity.  

This strategy often helps, but not tonight.  

“You have gotten exactly what you deserve. Your husband divorced you. And now this man uses you. You don’t even put up a fight any more.”

Three swallows from the cup, but nothing stops the incessant ranting. As a little girl, I never imagined I would feel like this. I’m exhausted but restless. Numb but somehow antsy. Inside, I feel darker than night. My mind is as unshakably toxic as the man outside my door calling another woman “baby.” I am so tired of overhearing his flirty tone, and yet I feel strangely deserving of this treatment. An utter failure.

I rest my head on my knees, praying for relief, but finding none.

I move to the bathroom and turn on the shower to feel better, to drown out the sound of his voice. But it doesn’t work. His voice is gone but the negative thoughts are louder, like jackals moving in from every side, yanking me down onto the shower floor. There, months of pent up grief, fear, anxiety, and doubt pour from me. I cannot catch my breath.

Once again, I picture me as a little girl, sitting next to me on the shower floor, but rather than comfort me, she buries her face in her hands. I feel nothing and everything, a primal place I didn’t know existed.  

Time passes. The water continues to fall. But there is nothing but black darkness left. No light. No hope. Just the pit of rock bottom and no way out.

Eventually the door opens. “What are you doing on the floor?” he asks sharply. The light cuts across my eyes, alarmingly bright as I raise a hand to shield my face.  

I can’t find an appropriate response or the energy to give it. There’s no kindness, concern, or patience in his voice. I hear him snort as he turns and walks away, heading for the patio.

I turn off the water and reach for my towel, moving in slow motion, eventually making my way to the chair beside him.

“What is the matter with you?”  he says “We are in a beautiful place and you’re crying on the shower floor.” He takes a drag from the pipe, exhaling a curl of smoke into the night air.

I have no response. There’s really nothing to say. He has never been overly concerned with my feelings and doesn’t plan to start now. Two days into a week-long vacation and things are already clear. He has moved on and has no intention of pretending otherwise. He is here for the paid vacation.

Is this all I deserve now? This relationship, and my divorce before that, have taken their toll, stripping away my self-worth one challenging moment at a time.

We sit in silence for a while. Occasionally he offers me the pipe. I accept it, hoping its contents will provide me with an escape, help me sleep.

Eventually I unfold from the chair. My muscles ache from head to toe. Deep inside, I know I deserve better, and certainly little me deserves more, but I don’t have the energy to fight for either of us tonight. Instead, I leave him out there, turn out the bedroom lights and crawl into my side of the bed. I grab my headphones, queue up a “happy” playlist and listen to one song after another, watching the shadows shift as the trees dance in the streetlight’s glow.

An hour later, he stumbles into bed, and begins snoring. Five more days of this vacation left. A penance, perhaps, for being unable to hold my marriage together and for choosing a broken companion to chase away the loneliness.  

“If this trip is already like this, will there be nothing of me left after five more days?” I wonder. Does it even matter?”

I close my eyes. “Does it even matter?”

I roll onto my side and wipe the tears from my cheek. “Do I even matter?”

Then I imagine little me again, touching my shoulder. This time her voice gets through the negativity as I drift into an exhausted sleep. “I think we do.”