Friday's Letters

Dear Boyfriend, I haven't taken the trash out once since you've been gone. And it's actually not because I'm too lazy. I just don't produce that much garbage, apparently. Ironic. (GET IT? BECAUSE OF THE TRASH THING? BECAUSE. TRASH. WASTE. GET IT?) I've also bought an embarrassing amount of magazines so I can take advantage of reading trash (HAH. TRASH AGAIN.) without you here to heckle me about it. I also finished season 3 of The League and used the ESPN app on the Xbox pretty much every night. (Pssst...these are things a GUY should be admitting to.) I've also had ramen for dinner...five times now? And I've made the mistake of having gluten for lunch pretty much every day which my stomach has not enjoyed. This is what happens when you leave. I'm spiraling downhill real fast. But you come home Sunday. And so help me God if you call me to pick you up from the airport and either Beyonce is on stage or the game is close, you are gonna have to get a cab home or sit on the airport curb. Who travels on Super Bowl Sunday? Who does anything non-football or commercial watching on Super Bowl Sunday? That's like blasphemy. You should feel like trash. (BAH. TRASH.) I am super proud of your awesomness though and all the stupid work you've gotten done. And I've had the BBC and two cute little dogs to keep me company. Dear Wind, WTF dude? Dear Duck, thank you for not peeing in the new apartment while Dad's been gone. I know how you like to pretend like you don't have to follow rules when it's just Mommy around. Which, lets be real, you don't really have to do with those huge ears and those adorable puppy eyes. Dear Rogue, thank you for snuggling under the covers with me last night. You're a great little spoon. Dear Sisters, beautiful singing in your recital. Good job making Mom and Dad cry. And Craven, break a leg at your audition tomorrow! Boston University is gonna be amazed. And if they are not, I will personally destroy them all. Dear Wind, seriously what is wrong with you?


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By: Chelsea Poole

What I'm Grateful For This Week

life with fingerprints

I am grateful for puppies that play at my feet. I am grateful for puppies that tear apart foam balls, scattering bits of lime green and bright orange across a new apartment. I am grateful for puppies that are learning to share: toys, treats, sofa time, and mommy and dad's attention. I am grateful for a little black dog that is slowly teaching a dumb, stubby-legged pup to remember that she is the boss. 

I am grateful for a man that makes tea and builds forts and lets me poke him in the face and reminds me not to stomp and changes his voice for me and let me put my wand on his nerd shelf. 

I am grateful for wind that pinches pink into my cheeks and sun that sprinkles itself across still water, dancing upon the surface just for me. I am grateful for leaves that refuse to fall and petals that continue to bloom and a winter that won't make up its mind. I am thankful for snowballs and rain puddles and driving with my windows down. 

I am grateful for red lipstick and wicker baskets and a dog crate that is my saving grace. I am grateful for new washing machines and big porches and empty ashtrays and neighbors that sing at the top of their lungs. I am thankful for books and family dinners and birthdays. 

I am grateful for words. New words. Old words. Words that wrap around me in the dark. Words I can't define. Words next to words next to words next to phrases that make sentences. I am grateful for words on lined paper. I am grateful for the curves of B's and the loops of e's and the way my pen sounds scratching away. 

I am grateful for a goodbye that came from a sloppy lick hello.  I am grateful for a dog with a nub for a tail. I'm grateful for eyes that slowly lost me but still felt the light from my fingertips reaching to get tangled in soft auburn fur. I am grateful for a puppy that hid under the car. I am grateful for a puppy that came home with me in that car and spent eight years growing up with me in that car. I am grateful for a little white dog and a moody, old cat left at home alone. 

I am grateful for bookcases and two stars and a nebula.