Alone

“One for Up in the Air, please.” I hand my credit card to the young woman and she
starts to process my movie ticket. She shows me her little computer screen and asks
me to choose my seat. I donʼt get out much — Iʼve never been to a movie theater where
you have to choose your seat number in line. But then again, this is Los Angeles and
according to all my cousins, things are better and hipper here.

“Well, I donʼt like sitting too close to the screen,” I tell the girl. I find it odd that we are
having this conversation. Does she need to know these things about me? Itʼs her
theater, how do I know where to sit? People are in line behind me and I just want to go
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To Scout or Not to Scout?

Boy Scouts has become a big part of my family’s time.  My husband hated Boy Scouts as a kid.  His pinewood derby car ended up being a block of wood with wheels.  The other kids, the ones who didn’t have divorced parents, had carved out sleek racing cars with painted stripes.  Peter begged his older brother for help, but did so only half an hour before the big event.

I remember the conversation about Cub Scouts when our boys were little.  We said we’d never support an organization that could exclude the gay population, or any other group of people.

Then our son became intrigued.  He was interested in nothing, but Cub scouts had him raising a single eyebrow: “Well, maybe that sounds good, Mom…”  

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Write On, Mama!

My excuses flowed like a quick moving stream. I had planned for a month (it was written in HUGE red letters on the kitchen wall calendar, on the second Sunday in March) to attend a Writing Mamas meeting, but I almost didn’t come.

My husband thought it was because of him – that maybe I felt guilty leaving him to the kids and no planned dinner and bedtime. I hadn’t actually thought of that, but then I added it to the list.

“No,” I told him, “I have to read two chapters in my textbook by tomorrow for the class I’m taking, and I’ve got to drive my mom to the airport tomorrow early. And then there’s Ethan’s state report, and …”

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