The Game of Deployment
Slip, slide, swear, and cry your way through the Game of Deployment! Continue reading The Game of Deployment
Author: Melissa Kutsche
Woman breaks promise to herself, admits to buying new books before reading the books she already owns
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – A local woman received several books in the mail this month, even though she had made a vow not to purchase new reading material until she had read the books already sitting on her bookshelf. “I know I should read what I have first,” said Melissa Kutsche, 36. “But I got so excited…I couldn’t help myself.” Kutsche also admitted to checking … Continue reading Woman breaks promise to herself, admits to buying new books before reading the books she already owns
A Note of Gratitude to my Non-Military Friends: You Don’t Have to “Get It” to Get Me
Dear Non-Military Friends, The number of holiday cards we receive is getting smaller. I know there are a lot of factors contributing to this – including the fact that in the first seven years of my husband’s military career, we moved four times. But regardless of how many times my address has changed, your cards show up in my mailbox each December without fail. Thank … Continue reading A Note of Gratitude to my Non-Military Friends: You Don’t Have to “Get It” to Get Me
Five Things to Do With a Mistake
Have a staring contest with your mistake. Take a deep breath, open your eyes, and glare at that thing. Hold its gaze until your eyes burn, until tears stream down your face. When you can’t bear it anymore, keep staring. Lock eyes until it looks away. If you find this impossible, don’t be afraid to blink. Keep practicing. Try again. Trust that you will outlast … Continue reading Five Things to Do With a Mistake
Happy Birthday to You!
Separate 4-5 eggs. Beat egg whites until stiff and refrigerate.Beat egg yolks with a scant cup of sugar and 2 T water until light and frothy. The first time I made Kutsche Cake for my husband’s birthday, I made the mistake of beating the egg whites by hand with a whisk. I had never made a meringue and had no idea that that my efforts … Continue reading Happy Birthday to You!
Noodles
Steam shoots into the air as the ball of noodles hits the boiling water. My daughter’s eyes dance, following the cook as he performs his choreography, accompanied by a cacophony of hisses, sizzles, and splatters. He is an artist; a simple white bowl awaits his creation. I stare at my own masterpiece, savoring the strokes of blue in her eyes. A stranger once said to me, … Continue reading Noodles
Endangered Species
It’s not rational to believe that the omission of her name on an envelope is a true attempt at erasure. And yet, it is hard not to feel its prick, hard not to know that there are parts of her that have slowly evaporated…goals and dreams that have disappeared, parts of her identity that have been shuffled around and set aside. Sometimes it seems like a name is all that remains, and she must hold to it until her knuckles are white; she must cling to the snippets that remain of the person she was. Continue reading Endangered Species
Sunshower
I keep my sunglasses on when we enter the building. To remove them would reveal my red, swollen eyes to the world, and I don’t have the energy to fend off empathetic looks or questions. Not today. It’s my daughter’s fifth birthday, and we’ve brought treats for her class: 14 little hedgehog cupcakes. My daughter leads us down the basement hallway; she’s nearly running in … Continue reading Sunshower
Origami of the Heart
The face of a wristwatch stares at me from its case, frozen at 8:15 a.m. Tattered backpacks, left behind by children on their way to school, wait for their owners to claim them from this post-apocalyptic lost-and-found. A tricycle, now rusted, joints stricken with gout, spent 40 years underground before it was resurrected for exhibition. It belonged to a boy named Shin, and grief gnaws … Continue reading Origami of the Heart
To Rise Like the Waters
I am naked in a room full of strangers. I glance around the room, careful not to let my gaze linger for too long in any one place. I spot several open showers at the far end of the room, and I carefully walk over and perch on one of the stools. I set down my white washcloth, not sure if I am supposed to … Continue reading To Rise Like the Waters
Melissa Kutsche 