In America

1.  Rhode Island

In the middle of the night, while sleeping next to my sister in her bed, she sits up on her elbow, peels the covers away from me, pats me gently on the center of my chest, pulls the blankets up, and goes back to sleep.

2.  New York City

We go dancing at midnight on a man-made sandy beach on the shore of Queens, with the Manhattan skyline some dazzling wallpaper across the water.  Staying out till 4 in the morning might as well be staying out till 4 in the morning of the following day, since I need a whole extra 24 hours to recuperate.

It’s strange to think I used to live here, a little ball of rubber cement with glitter smeared on my forehead and an illegible “Hello my name is” badge, zinging around at 90 miles per hour with the rest of them.

3.  New Hampshire

The fight with the neighbors over a sliver of unused woods continues.  Once it is finally settled someday, she wants to build a wall ten feet high in order to shut them out completely.

4.  Maine

Blueberries, corn, retrievers, loons, plus this year:  a brand new tiny baby girl.  She still seems most content when squinched up on someone’s chest, tiny newborn tush sticking out.  While holding her, for maybe the first time I think that I could probably do this too.

5.  Connecticut

The wedding overlooks the water.   The sun is in my eyes and my face squeezes up and I cry during the vows, and then cry more later at the reception.  I dance so hard my hair falls down.  My husband looks like a leading man and I hang on his neck as if it’s last song at the prom.

At 2 a.m., while trying to load floppy dollars into the snack machine in the hotel basement, it makes an ear piercing buzzer noise like I just answered the question WRONG.  Because I am drunk, I keep at the damn dollar slot until I realize the noise I’m hearing is actually a fire alarm.

6.  Massachusetts

What are the odds that two separate visits, to two different parts of the state, will both involve contact with pet goats?   A quality of life indicator for the new millennium.

It’s the part when a naked toddler who’s just started talking the week before proudly announces her bowel movement that I make up my mind I need to move back here.

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