I asked several people to tell me the smartest thing they have ever done. I picked a random group: current friends, past friends, acquaintances, family, my parents’ friends, coworkers, strangers. Most people didn’t know the answer, which is part of why it’s an important question. Continue reading

A bag, a backpack, and a box were clustered on my floor, each brimming with clothes. I took inventory: seven dresses, three shirts, seven sweaters, a skirt, two swimsuits, a jumpsuit, two scarves, three bags, one pair of pants, one pair of shorts, and five pieces of jewelry. This was round one. Continue reading

I liked dogs as a kid; they were fun. But I didn’t adore them, and at no point in my teens or early twenties had I considered making the leap to adopt. Robby, meanwhile, had been fantasizing about dog ownership for over a decade. Shortly after we moved in together, he made it clear that he very much wanted a dog. I didn’t hate the idea, so we got Orion. Continue reading

The restaurant’s kitchen doors had star-shaped windows carved into the front. They periodically swung outward to reveal white light, which made them look like the eyes of a laughing face. I felt radiant. Continue reading

The reason why it has taken months to write about one of my tiny life’s important adventures is because I’m afraid of readers’ reactions. I’ve been taught that, when responding to a marriage proposal, the “yes” should be instant. My “yes” was not, and I’m afraid that readers—mentors and my parents’ friends, primarily; people who know what it means to be married—may think a drawn out “yes” should have been a “no.” Continue reading