After a Debutante’s debut, what tends to happen? In the old days, she probably got married off and began living a life of luxury. Today — who knows? But surely a tiara or fancy dress is involved. I guess you don’t need me to tell you that times have changed. Absolutely nothing about my own debut happened the way I expected it to. Like in most things I do, I…
My mother raised animals in much the same way she raised children: by allowing them to have everything they want, not giving them limitations, and then smiling charmingly when one of them peed on the couch. I craved the curfews that my friends had and even thought being grounded sounded pretty good — or at least like you were like kids were in movies. With the animals, she didn’t believe…
I’ve never really been scared of things that go bump in the night. Sure, when I was little, I had the occasional paranoid conviction that something was lurking just outside my bedroom window or under my bed or in my closet. But somewhere along the way, life just ripped that fear out of me. It’s actually the scariest things that ever happened to me that have made me primarily convinced…
I would say that the main thing that publishing has taught me is how to meet my deadlines and then make a joke about the fact that it’s 4:23 on Saturday where I am and I’ve officially thus missed my deadline for this post. Missing deadlines is atypical for me — I’m actually the opposite, the virtual equivalent of the kid who sat in the front row and raised her…
Well, Kristy Kiernan‘s brainchild has made a seemingly seamless transition into its latest incarnation. And, after only a year, we founders — I feel like a bit of a fraud even calling myself a founder, as my big contribution to the group was a MySpace page that has been ever so sadly neglected (new Debs: please ask me for log-in information for it so I can pass that duty onto…
Last dance Last dance for love Yes, it’s my last chance For romance tonight Okay, so maybe the lyrics to this Donna Summer number aren’t completely relevant. Because I suspect that although this is my last Monday post on The Debutante Ball, it isn’t in fact my last chance for romance. But is it possible to say “The Last Dance” and not immediately have this song stuck in your ahead,…
I have an excellent memory for entirely useless things. I remember telling a family friend that my favorite TV show was Underdog when I was about four. I recall being absolutely enamored of a bruise my friend had on her leg in kindergarten. I remember wearing the same dress as my friend the first day of first grade, but I was wearing it backwards (my mom was back at work,…
I used to be thoroughly mystified by people who had trouble with things ending. Whether it was the end of a play date, summer, movie, camp or school year, I always felt as if whatever it was had more than run its course. I loved my grammar school but didn’t understand the wracking sobs of my friends as they hugged me and didn’t let go. On the last day of…
My mother has always told me I should be grateful that I’m not the middle child — a statement she’s been forced to trot out every time I’ve complained about being the youngest, which has been fairly often. The fact that there was no middle child in our family hasn’t seemed all that relevant. Being the baby gets a good rap; you’re allegedly showered in affection, can do no wrong…
Yikes, here I go writing off topic again. I’m winding up a week in New York that I spent publicizing my book. I was tempted to write that I’m winding up my New York book tour, but the fact is, I got myself here (using mileage, but still), paid for my hotel room and booked most of my own media appearances. Just a few tiny words can change the meaning,…
