39x365 #29: Me

Hopefully smart, some have said cute. Occasional queen of procrastination, still getting the balance right on the new parenting gig, but enjoying it immensely. Striving to get back to writing and research, with not enough success yet. Currently optimistic.


A few minor notes on this 39x365. First, o.k., I'm not technically a person who I have met, but then again, I do know myself, don't I? At least somewhat. Second, I know that I'm not 39 anymore, and that at the rate I'm going, I'll be at least 50 by the time I finish, but I'll stick to the 39 word limit anyway, for continuity.

39x365 #28: Eva

Creatress of fine knitted goods for one special baby, purveyor of coffee, tea and homemade cakes to parents as a means to spend time with aforementioned baby. We would have visited anyway, but are glad to accept good hospitality.

39x365 #27: Suzanne

My classmate in London, conducting PhD research into bilingualism. You wrote a book on raising bilingual children, undoubtedly influenced by your own French/English speaking family. It occurs to me that I should be finding the finished product about now.

39x365 #26: Girl in Japanese restaurant

A field trip to a Japanese restaurant, clearly your first experience with Japanese cuisine. You pre-ordered sashimi and lobster, but were not expecting raw fish and a live lobster. The waiter grudgingly allowed you to change your order.

39x365 #25: Kt

My long ago long-term lunch partner. Mother of two young-ladies-in-training. One of my many motherhood role models, the right amount of caring and laid-back. Which would be of more use except we’re both so bad at keeping in touch.

39x365 #24: Prof. Robinson

Professor of literature, resident of a Zen Center, you were the real Zen deal. Your class on religion and literature was punctuated by periodic use of a singing bowl, which enchanted everyone else but put me slightly on edge.

39x365 #23: Buddhist ex-coworker

After a lifetime of flirting with Zen, your non-Zen Buddhism intrigued me. Alas, one lunch with you, and it was clear that your sect, encouraging repeated mantra praying as a way to material success, was deeply not for me.

39x365 #22: Jesus

Not Christ, but a bearer of his name. When you dressed as your namesake that one Halloween, complete with lifelike cardboard cross (carried with the proper sacrificial aura) it was not surprising that you won all the school awards.

39x365 #21: Rex

Whenever there are siblings, there is always someone who becomes an honorary extra sibling. I’d come home, see no brother, but you asleep on the couch. I’d ask, ‘where’s he at’, and you’d respond (in your sleep) ‘I dunno.’

39x365 #20: Panda

Not from my childhood, but an integral part of my early adulthood. You have been the basis of a homemade religion, a player of many roles. Always a child magnet, your future undoubtedly includes tooth marks and drool stains.

39x365 #19: Abby

I said something which offended you, though it was not intentional. You actively stopped speaking to me. As I worked with you everyday, and was in the same social circle as you, I found this silent treatment rather traumatic.

39x365 #18: Mickey Mouse

Though I don’t remember it personally, I apparently was toilet trained in exchange for a trip to Disneyland. To meet you. Except that I was too awe-struck to actually approach you. I still think you’re cool, but Minnie’s cooler.

39x365 #17: Auntie Mary Ann

A worthy recipient of honorary 'auntie' status. Your trademark? Wonderful Christmas and birthday presents sent 3 months late, so never expected, but much appreciated. You were a delivery room nurse at my birth, though I don’t recall that personally.

39x365 #16: Waiter in that cafe in Lisbon

I became a ‘local’ in your café. Then, you started another café nearby. Peering in months later, you invited me in and gave me my usual order. Which had since changed. I could never bring myself to tell you.

39x365 #15: Silvia

I was dead impressed with your fluency, but found your Spanish-accented Danish almost impossible to understand. Paired for a Danish speaking exam, I amazingly could understand you, whereas you were surprised to find I could speak Danish at all.

39x365 #14: Pedro

My companion last time to Barcelona. Too macho to accept my paying (even though you were on my holiday), no money to pay yourself, making every restaurant meal into a fight. Why we even attempted a relationship escapes me.

39x365 #13: Miguel

On your second Camino de Santiago, with definite ideas of how it ‘should’ be done.. Slightly dogmatic, but possessing occasional wisdom. I felt in need of your advice after finishing the journey, but you were nowhere to be found.

39x365 #12: Boy sitting next to me in geometry

You seemed nice enough. Only when you signed my yearbook did I realize that you clearly thought I was something special. I was too young to be interested, but flattered. I never noticed you outside of geometry class ever.

39x365 #11: Barney

When I was a child, you would follow me everywhere. One day, I decided to ignore you, to see what would happen. You were concerned, then upset, then seemed to lose interest in me. This I found quite traumatic.

39x365 #10: Steven the rocking horse

A keynote of my childhood since infancy, every part of you has been broken, then fixed. Now in darkness, you will soon leave your shed and immigrate to Denmark, to play an equally important role for the next generation.