“You should be careful with your bag,” Jessica says to me. “It’s heavy.” “I will be, sweetie,” I tell her. “And don’t poke yourself with that pen.” “I’ll be careful,” I tell her, tucking the pen in the bag. Not comparing her to a helicopter parent or pointing out that I successfully managed all of…
Category: Conversations with Jessica
On the complications of living
Someone I know has to meet the woman who destroyed her family and is now the stepmother to her children, and put on a smiling face to do it. Her ex wants her to stop in and say hello when she comes by to pick up the kids one day, and she said she knows it’s going to be…
On expressions I will never use again
I’m on the phone with a friend of mine who lives in New York, and she mentions that she ran into a novelist she knows who lives down the street from her—“It’s New York, after all”—and I say, “Yeah, you can’t swing a cat without hitting a writer.” Jessica is listening to me and suddenly her…
On the way we are made
“I hope the house is not on fire,” Jessica remarks, coming into the bedroom where I am folding laundry. “What?!?!!” I shriek. “There,” she says, pointing. “That looks like a flame.” It does, but it is simply a scrap of red metallic paper that has fetched up against the wall, probably leftover from a piece…
Conversations with Jessica
I introduced Jess to the wonders of Mary Poppins (the movie) the other day. And here is how our conversation went: Jess: This is such a good movie! Did you watch it on DVD when you were a kid? Me: We didn’t have DVDs when I was a kid. Jess: But you know all…
On telling stories
You know, I try to give y’all helpful advice for living your creative life. I carefully craft action steps, things to do to help you in your creative work. And? And I get these gentle notes: “Well, it’s fine. Really. Really. It’s just . . . they’re not Jessica stories.” Do you realize how much…