16 Comments
Feb 25Liked by Merrill Markoe

My sweet little toddler niece once observed that “there is a tomorrow, then a tomorrow after that, and a tomorrow after that… but what happens when there aren’t any more tomorrows?”

Hoping my internal horror was adequately masked, I think I said something like “wow, great question, no one knows!” and immediately changed the subject. This is why I know I made the right decision to never have children! 😱

Expand full comment

I honestly had to put this down when you described the sight-seeing routine. I had a similar but very different experience with sort of "month away."

I haven't thought of that experience in a long time and it matters that I remember this shit. It was traumatic and bizarre. 😯

I truly appreciate your recognizing the experience you had and sharing it. It's helping me to resolve some of my old stuff. And figuring out how I came the decades old woman I am now requires remembering. 😊

I'll save this. Thanks again.

Expand full comment

“Woman!, Why don’t you git your butt on into the kitchen and rustle us up something to eat!”

Oh.

My God.

Who did you say introduced you to him?

Expand full comment

Even the title of this one rocks

thank you!

Expand full comment

Sorry, I'm a little slow catching up on this one. But I love it so much, it was worth the wait! My favorite part: "The shelf angle had never occurred to me before. What kind of a shelf were we talking about and where was it located?..."

Expand full comment

The more I read about your life the more I want to give you a big hug. A lot of stuff you had to overcome. Glad it all worked out.

Expand full comment

If I received a joke "No-wedding Invitation" in the mail, I would expect a slice of a multi-tiered cake, the "hokey-pokey," and a drunken toast from someone's fraternity brother - rules still apply, you know.

Expand full comment

This was a fantastic read! Thanks! (And yay for Italian nuns in small artsy towns. I grew up there and turned out prettttyyyyy cooool) Also, spinsters on a shelf? What a mental image! Love it! We have a similar sense of humour as when I got my Aussie citizenship I got those wooden tags people use for babies like "my name is __ , I was born on ____ ,I weigh ___..." and the "1 month old" "2 months..." and use them for my new passport. Monthly.

Expand full comment
Feb 25·edited Feb 25

Having survived the death of my amazing husband last year after nearly 44 years together-- someone who would have rustled up his own snacks for the guys-- I thought I'd be bothered by your idea of marriage as "terror." But no, with what you've described, I have to wholeheartedly agree with you. Very, very good that you didn't get hitched to B.P.T.!

As I contemplate the possibility of ending up with a new love-person late in life, I think about relationships like that one and yeah NO. Thanks so much this piece.

By the way, it's Cruella DeVil, for obvious visual pun reasons. And elsewhere in animation history, Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

Expand full comment