The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: pressure

  • My LGBTQ+ Connection

    I’m not broken. I don’t need to be fixed.

  • Let’s Be Gentle with Ourselves

    I’d rather be a hammock than a trampoline.

  • The Holiday Spirit

    What is this thing called the Christmas spirit? It sometimes eludes me.

  • Helpless Stress

    Sooner or later, every train engineer will have someone step in front of his or her train as a way to permanently solve a temporary problem. That must be a heartbreaking experience. You want to stop, but you know you can’t. I suspect that all you can really do is close your eyes, swallow really…

  • How I Live Now

    There was a time, not so very long ago, when I could have told you the exact amount of cash I had in my wallet, down to the penny. I’d wake up in a cold sweat, wondering how I’d pay my bills, or what on earth I’d do if I became seriously ill with no…

  • Pedophobia

    Growing up, I was bullied enough to know that children can be extremely cruel. They can also be devious, manipulative, and disingenuous. Even as a child, I avoided them. I spent more time with books and adults. When my mother tried to make me join the Girl Scouts, I looked upon it as punishment and…

  • You Are Already Enough

    Dear You, I suspect no one has ever told you this, so I figured I would. You are already enough. You were just who you were supposed to be on the day you were born. I don’t know why people find it so hard to give compliments or encouragement. I really don’t know why so…

  • Sanctuary Cities

    I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about sanctuary cities. He happens to fall on the opposite end of the political bell curve, so debates with him can be interesting. And yet we never get hostile with each other, and still manage to be respectful. Why is that such a dying…

  • A Maternal Instinct for Benign Neglect

    I really have to hand it to my mother. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I was exposed to the idea that parents were capable of disliking their children. Ma never gave me that impression, so the concept never occurred to me. When I was in my early 20’s, my mother admitted to…

  • Growly Dreams

    I enjoy watching my dogs dream. Their little paws run and they sometimes twitch and yip. I imagine they’re chasing squirrels. But tonight Devo was growling in his sleep. I called his name from across the room. I didn’t want to touch him in case he thought I was the adversary. (I’d like to keep…