Page Turner's Blog, page 56

There’s Not Always a Need for Advice

Whenever I write slice of life pieces, I’ll frequently get a certain kind of reader feedback. This is particularly the case when I write about a small problem affecting me or those around me.

“This feels unfinished.” “Where’s the rest of it?”

And occasionally: “I was expecting some advice.”

It’s funny.  » Read more

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When You’re Trying Your Hardest But It Still Isn’t Good Enough

It’s happened so many times. I’ll be sitting in a room with someone else, and they’ll say, “What’s that sound?”

And even though I’ll drop everything I’m doing and strain to hear it, it’ll typically take me at least a few seconds to figure out what they’re talking about.

“I can’t believe you didn’t hear that,”  » Read more

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How to Grow Together Instead of Apart

I’ve been married twice. The first time around, my ex-husband and I dated for three years before he proposed to me. At the time, we were sitting in our apartment at the table eating a steak dinner that I’d cooked.

He didn’t kneel down or do anything particularly dramatic. Instead, the proposal came out rather spontaneously.  » Read more

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The Yes-No-Maybe Dance of Long-Term Relationship Sex

I’m lying in bed in my pajamas. It’s bedtime. Every one of my normal bedtime routines has been done. And I’m lying there reading a book, which I do pretty much every night before I go to sleep.

It’s a good book. A funny one. But I glance over and see you lying next to me.  » Read more

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I Stopped Playing Sports Because I Shut Down Completely When Someone Yells at Me

I don’t talk about it much, but I used to really enjoy playing sports. I was a good little athlete once upon a time. Part of why this changed had to do with puberty and what happened to my body. I was cursed with a shape that made high-impact activities physically painful — and socially embarrassing.  » Read more

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Self-Destruction Is So Much Harder to Resist Than Other-Destruction

In my dream last night, I poured a soda over someone else’s head.

This is something I’ve never done in real life, although there have been moments when I wanted to. When I’ve thought about doing it, because someone’s said something that offends me to my core.

But I’ve never actually done it.  » Read more

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Feeling Bad About My Imperfections Did Me More Harm Than My Imperfections Ever Did

If I want to think of a time when my inner thoughts weren’t self-critical, I have to think back very far. Practically to a point where life was largely non-verbal, and I don’t remember too much aside from images. The warmth of sunlight on my face. The view of my own tiny stockinged feet shoved into full-body pajamas.  » Read more

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I Find Reliable, Passionate, & Considerate People So Swoonworthy

I’ve been talking to a friend who’s filling out profiles for matchmaking services. I haven’t done that myself too much. Haven’t really done much online dating either. I’ve tried that a few times for short periods of time, but I hated the experience so much I’ve mostly met people other ways. For me that’s been occasionally through in-person meetups but primarily via friends of friends.  » Read more

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Does Anybody Ever Respond Well to “I Told You So”?

“And of course, after all that, I’d come to find out that I was right. Of course,” she says.

“She’d ignored your warning, and it had happened,” I replied.

“Right.”

I don’t know what to say back. It’s happened to me quite a bit over my life. I’ve found myself on both sides of things —  » Read more

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Those Days When You’re Still Paying Off the Emotional Debt from the Day Before

It’s one of those days.

Sometimes I get so damned tired of the questions my brain asks me that I can’t answer.

Some days I wake up exhausted for seemingly no reason. Not because I didn’t get enough sleep (although that’s always a struggle). But feeling as though an important part of me can’t get any rest.  » Read more

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