Suburbia Is Where My Creativity Goes to Die
And my beloved dog, apparently
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I took my daughters to the zoo yesterday— something I would have never done if my husband wasn’t across the country for work. He can’t step foot in a zoo. He thinks they are cruel. I tend to agree, but I am alone with two kids for three months and I thought seeing elephants might make them stop their toddler sass for a hot second.
I was wrong. They remained sassy throughout.
As I elbowed all the eager children out of the way and pressed my face to the glass to observe a lethargic caged tiger, I found myself emphasizing with him. We shared a vacant stare and heavy sigh as I picked Joey up off the ground after temper tantrum #25 of the day. The bouncy ball she got at the gift shop didn’t open, which was obviously appalling.
Not too long ago, I took a Medium break during a move across the state. I haven’t had any time to myself to formulate a thought since then. I’ve written very little, despite having dozens of story-inspiring things occur these past couple of months.
It isn’t just my lack of time or the nasty migraines that have kept me away (although, those are most of the problem right now) — I seem to have lost my words.
I could write about how I got a horrific stomach bug the week my husband left for his work trip. I lost seven pounds in two days. My friend begged me to sneeze on her. My mom said I was “lucky.” I had more fireworks coming out of me than the Fourth of July firework show that rattled the porcelain throne my head was buried in.
I could write about what a proud mama I am. I share the silly things my kids do to annoy me but those two girls amaze me every day. They’ve been so strong even though they miss their daddy a whole lot right now. Joey is convinced he lives in the iPad thanks to their constant FaceTime chats.
Or perhaps, I should share the story of how I was walking my dog, Bronco, and a group of younger guys screamed “AaaaOoooGaaaa” out the window at me. Clearly, they were too far away to see how old I am and the peanut butter spread on both my shoulders from leftover toddler lunches.
The unexpected catcall startled me so much that I dropped the dog leash, tripped over my…
