Family
Christmas With Cops
Being born and bred in the Southern US, holiday gatherings may seem a little... different than what the Hallmark cards portray. For starters, the holiday seasons around here usually coincide with hunting season. Being part of a family of avid hunters, it is not an uncommon sight to see antlers hanging on the walls and to overhear talk amongst my uncles and male cousins about their latest trophies. Furthermore, no holiday gathering is complete without the men in my family congregating outside to examine a new "toy" brought by one of the others and testing it out. Usually, it's some kind of firearm, but there are occasions when it differs.
By Natalie Gray3 years ago in Confessions
Walnuts, Pies, and Resentment
I used to really enjoy Thanksgiving. As a kid I loved making paper turkeys in school. Sometimes we’d have popcorn parties in the main foyer of the Breen School, crammed together, excused from class, to watch a well worn filmstrip. The five day weekend that started when the bell rang was the icing on the cake for nine year old me. In the small New England city I grew up in, we’d take our time walking home, shuffling through the fallen leaves with our cheap sneakers and our jackets tied around our waists.
By S. Hileman Iannazzo3 years ago in Confessions
Rough day
I wouldn't say I grew up in the worst of homes. However it was by far not the best place to be, between having two parents in an unhappy marriage, to a difficult split, and then both of them hating whoever the other was seeing; made for uncomfortable home life.
By Ryan Welch3 years ago in Confessions
Heart Attack Holiday
It should have been a day we would remember fondly for the rest of our lives. Our first Christmas together as a couple. Surrounded by my family at the lakeside vacation home of my new in-laws, I had never been so excited for a holiday get-together. Nervous as I may have been, my affairs had never been in better order.
By New Cult King3 years ago in Confessions
The girl with the question mark on her wrist
2008-2009 The divorce was final. Not sure if the paperwork had gone through yet but my dad was definitely remarried and I’m now living with him, his wife and her two kids all under one roof. My baby sister was born and now I had this new family. As a 19 year old teenager I didn’t really grasp it all. This is sort of a trend with me that I’m noticing. I don’t feel things.
By Natasha Collazo3 years ago in Confessions
Diary of a Caregiver: Confession #2
In case you missed it - Click here for Diary of a Caregiver: Confession #1 Preface Before I go on with the situation with my mom. Let's back up a little so I can let everyone briefly know what was going on with me. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2019. This had me shaken at the time I felt like this was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. Due to Covid my treatment was postponed until August/September 2020 at which time I took a Leave of Absence in order to undergo 20 radiation treatments. The radiation treatments were a success. Currently (November 2022) my PSA level is down to .81 from a high of 4.6. My guess is by the fall of 2023 the cancer should be undetectable.
By Rick Henry Christopher 3 years ago in Confessions
springhaven
I’ve trained myself to ignore the shitty things my dad does, and I fucking hate it. Tonight - we were about to watch TV. Mom had just hit play on the movie (an old western - we’d all seen it about a hundred times), and she headed back into the kitchen to grab the plates of dessert for her and my dad. He walked into the den a moment after - his entrance was marked by immediate heavy breathing, an aggravated huffing and puffing as he rushed over to the TV. He started muttering to himself, fumbling with the DVD player in an attempt to eject the disk.
By Savannah Sveta3 years ago in Confessions
Borders
The arbitrary border between Mexico and Texas has led to the separation between the culture I was born into and the culture my ancestors struggled to cultivate. While media doesn’t differentiate between Mexicans and Mexican Americans, I have felt the sting all too often. I am too brown to be among white people and not brown enough to be among my fellow Mexicans. I can’t handle spicy food, guacamole tastes like vomit, and my Spanish, no matter how much I work on it, will always sound different from someone born in Mexico.
By C.M. Vazquez3 years ago in Confessions
How Can You Beat That
Being a divorced mother of two for more than a decade, I was used to cooking things that I could either make in a hurry or prepare and freeze to thaw the next day. I prepared many freezable meals on the weekends when I had more time. Being in that situation, I found it necessary to work one full time job and one part time. After working my full-time job, I had the time to hurry home, fix dinner to share with my sons, and then race back out to my part time job.
By Margaret Brennan3 years ago in Confessions
