Luck is standing in a line at high school orientation in front of the mom you had toured a different high school alongside. She recognizes you and introduces you to her daughter, who had been sick that tour day. You sit together and find each other again on the first day of school. You takeContinue reading “Luck”
Author Archives: Caroline Mitchell Carrico
Bites
I’m currently listening to Aimee Nezhukumatathil read Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees, her most recent book of essays. Each short reflection, poem, and memory is related to the foods – prepared, cut, or plucked – that have stuck with her mixed amongst botanical observations and moments of gardening and growing. It is a beautifulContinue reading “Bites”
Painting chairs
There are those traditions I pursue with, frankly, a touch of manic zeal. Celebrating Advent, making gravy for Italian Festival, putting up a Christmas tree with every ornament my kids have ever made. These are the traditions that I actively sought out. The ones from my childhood that I consciously intended to continue. As myContinue reading “Painting chairs”
Once a year
There are certain recipes I make once a year. Each summer, I’ll get the fry oil to temperature, mix the cornmeal coating, set up stations, and fry a mess of green tomatoes. I’ll salt them while they drip oil, and we’ll eat them for dinner. We’ll eat so many that we won’t want them forContinue reading “Once a year”
Circular
Every year I am compelled to write at the beginning of Advent. This year my favorite liturgical season is at its shortest – only 21 days between the first Sunday and Christmas Eve. Moving holidays have a tendency to sneak up on you. I’ve loved the long wait since we would light our very thinContinue reading “Circular”
Clean
Start with the toilets. Hear the satisfying fizz of the vinegar hitting the baking soda; smell the clean tang of the tea tree oil. Move to the shower. Start scrubbing and realize that the tiles are not actually all the same color. Stomach the distaste and begin scrubbing. Realize that you need more help. FindContinue reading “Clean”
The best boy
He was the smallest fluffball in the tiniest cage at Memphis Animal Services. Separated from the rest of his litter and curled into a small brown ball, there wasn’t anything terribly distinguishing about him. The worker helping us said he’d definitely be a mid-sized dog and perfect for an apartment, and we were naive andContinue reading “The best boy”
Playing with words
Sometimes – when I’m walking or showering or folding the laundry – a phrase begins to rotate in my head. Subconsciously, words pull into an almost sentence and play three-card monte. Punctuation joins the party; commas insert themselves while periods delete. Verbs disappear to create powerful auditory punches. Ellipses and em dashes decide the pauses.Continue reading “Playing with words”
Flu
I am excruciatingly bad at being sick. My brain cannot comprehend that my body can be felled by a microscopic virus turning pirouettes among my cells. To be more accurate: I’m bad at being mildly ill. The under the weather when the symptoms are fatigue and chills but lack a fever or gastrointestinal distress. I’mContinue reading “Flu”
Leap taking
Yesterday, I sent out my first four query letters to agents. It’s a scary concept, putting myself out there like that. Nobody likes rejection, and I am intentionally putting myself in the path of it. There’s no formula, no guarantees, no easy way out of this one. If I want this, which I do, IContinue reading “Leap taking”
Caroline Mitchell Carrico 