Anniversary Edition!
I Am, by marriage, second-generation thin crust pizza, spicy Italian sausage from a local butcher, whole milk mozzarella and pizza sauce that’s not to sweet, not too tangy, not to salty. I am popcorn at 10pm with garlic salt and crushed black pepper, scrambled eggs most mornings, and breakfast in bed on my birthday. I am a cup of coffee snuck onto the bathroom counter while I’m in the shower. I am a late night mini DQ run accomplice.
I Am, by marriage, at the very top of a 14 thousand foot mountain. I am sitting at the UW Terrace with some kind of local brew in Madison, WI or at the New Glarus brewery with a $3 flight, or taking a lazy stroll on State Street after the Farmer’s market when the weather is warm and I’m in a sundress. I am in the upstairs bedroom on the left, waking up on holidays to rolling hills, Palamita Pond and a little farmet outside frosted windows in Beloit, Wisconsin. I am our very first Indiana Avenue facing one-bedroom apartment just a few steps from the Canal and White River State park by foot. I am sitting on a fixed and treated deck, sipping a summer Shandy by the Monon, with a yard just mowed, twinkle lights on, and a grill cooking fat-tire brats in Carmel, Indiana.
I Am, by marriage, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, niece, and cousin. I am Bucky the Badger and flip-flopper and Merlot Kathy and Indiana Ron/Wisconsin Ron depending on the score. I am Brookaliscious. I am a gold medal swimmer at an Olympic wedding! Most of the time, without even thinking before it slips out even at work, I am simply Babe, which is okay with me.
I Am, by marriage, always in style. The dress never makes me look fat, the hair always looks good, there is definitely a change in my arm muscles, and yes, I can have the last bite/piece/sip. I am good enough, cool enough, nice enough, honest enough, funny enough, pretty enough, smart enough and competent enough. I am known. I am forgiven. I am loved. I am “I will” and “I do” and “I now pronounce you man and wife!”
PS: Some friends have started doing this exercise with me, and I’m so thrilled it’s catching on. Three friends means catching, right? I do these weekly on Sundays, except for today which is Monday, If you like it, please respond with your own answers. Wouldn’t that be fun? (Yes, Brooke, that would be SO fun.)
Thanks to my pals who have responded- I love knowing who you are!
So tell me, everyone else, who are you?
Hello 
Right off of Pilgrimage 20 to Belize…
I AM cool damp sheets with monsoon rains pounding on a zinc roof, village schools with laughing children, a family table dusted with flour and patted with rhythmic tortilla-making hands, a screen-sided tent in a thick night jungle unable to keep out the deafening sounds of howler monkeys.
I AM rice and beans and beans and rice, sweet ripe mangos right off the tree, sour sop ice cream in season, plantains fried in butter—caramelized and gooey, escavache heaped in pretty borrowed bowls, and tres leches cake warm and moist.
I AM a friend to a malnourished dog hunting through a dump, one touched by a single mom about to become a squatter with her children in an abandon shack, a visitor tickled by 168 children who want to go down the same slide at the same time, an observer blessed by a carpenter with a new bicycle, and a lifetime friend to someone from another country who loves like a sister.
I AM “Charnaldo” when one man finishes another man’s legacy; angry with, “What do you mean you overbooked the flight and only 6 of the 8 are flying today?”; hopeful about the answer to, “so, do you think it is going to rain today?”; and forever admitting that I am, “homesick for Belize.”
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LOVE! This piece makes me feel like I was right there :)
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Brooke,
Not sure if I can use Jeff’s email, so I’m contacting you to let him know Ed Hundley died last evening…..Tuesday. He was out swimming and went down. His wife, Cindy, was there but they could not find him. He was found this am at the bottom of the lake. They were at their home in Indiana on Chapman Lake, outside of a Fort Wayne. Thankfully, All three girls are together in California, and will travel to Chapman Lake together. Sorry to pass on sad news, but if you guys could keep the family in your prayers it would be great.
Love you, Ron &Kathy…..dad/mom
Sent from my iPad
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Oh man, I just saw this :( So sorry to hear about Ed and how tragic for Cindy. Jeff is emailing you right now. I only get blog notifications about once per week, so email or Facebook is usually the fastest way to communicate because we have access to that on our phones 24/7. Praying for you guys and the family- J will be in touch via email. Hugs to you guys.
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