Month: October 2007

So far, The Big Trip has been an odd experience in that everyone that I meet asks, “Where are you from?” And I cannot reply with a one-word answer. I take a deep breath, wind up my motor-mouth, and commence with my convoluted autobiography. I don’t really know where my home is anymore. In the…

If there is one thing that I cannot resist, it’s a good crossword puzzle. Some go for the New York Times, but me? Nothing helps stimulate my mind quite like In Touch magazine’s “Time to Relax” section, including both a Sudoku puzzle and an ultra-challenging crossword about fashion and the entertainment industry. That’s right: I’m…

Dear Potential Employer, Congratulations! You are holding the invitation to employ me, Annie Parsons. This golden ticket is not easy to come by, as I am particular and discerning about my place of employment. Some might even call me picky – to which I respond, “In a good way.” You might be wondering what it…

I’m sitting outside a Midas in Redlands, CA, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. AAA has once again come to my rescue, replacing a flat tire with the spare this morning. On the day after a “party like a rock star” wedding and two hours of sleep, car issues are the last thing in the world…

This morning, my mom called me from a Borders bookstore in Overland Park, Kansas. As I zipped along the freeways of LA, she held up her cell phone and let me listen to four songs from a songwriter’s set. And not just any songwriter: Lori McKenna, one of my favorite songwriters of all time. Lori…

Something has happened. Something big. I expected that this might occur in these months of meeting tons of new people – and whaddayaknow – it did. I have developed an enormous, impossible crush. We were actually introduced a couple of years ago, but fell out of contact for the past year or so. Since I…

After a long-stretch of time with my nephews, Jeremy and Ashley arrived home tonight to relieve me of childcare duties. I am now excused from monitoring bowel movements (“I’m DUUHHH-un!”), re-telling the story of “The Lion King” every hour, receiving already-chewed gum into the palm of my hand, and being presented with a special gift…

[Overland Park, KS – 92 degrees outside. Annie, Micah, and Tyler in 1990 Honda Accord; A at wheel, M & T in matching side-by-side car seats on back seat. Cookie crumbs and juice boxes litter floorboards; car reeks of residual dog vomit. Vehicle idling at stoplight, next to large grey Buick.] Micah: Whoa. Annie: What?…

Once, I was known far and wide as being Annie the Nanny. Annie the GOOD Nanny. Annie the Nanny who could handle anything that came her way, tirelessly cycling through all of the things one does with kids: play, feed, change, wash, play, read, sing, play, love. There was no problem I could not settle,…

At slumber parties, you never want to be the one to fall asleep first. Whoever succumbs to slumber first runs the risk of her pals deviously dipping her hand into warm, and then immediately following, icy water, causing the victim to wet the bed. That was Austin. Today is October 1st, and yet the temperature…