Paper Ghost: Musings of a Restless Girl

When I was little, my grandma and I would perform what I now like to call a ritual, called "cut and paste."  We would cut up construction paper and glue it in different ways to make bookmarks and other little pieces of juvenile art.  With the passing of Valentine's Day, I specifically remembered how we would cut different colored hearts in a distinct way so that each side was even and symmetrical.  We would then glue the hearts onto different colored rectangles made of construction paper to make little bookmarks. I also had this porcelain teaset that she made me that included little tea cups with blue flowers, and a tea kettle shaped like a cat with a fish being held at its chest for a spout. We would sit at my little craft table and she would make us real tea to put in the cat kettle and we'd have a tea party.  Usually, this included homemade sugar cookies with pink homemade buttercream frosting.  I never liked Valentine's Day when I got older, and this memo...

When I was little, I would explore all the nooks and crannies in the spare bedroom at my grandma's house in Winchester.  The chest of drawers was full of treasures--rose-scented lotions, candles, shiny makeup compacts, old business cards, sachets of potpourri, all fascinating to a little girl.  There was one trinket in particular that caught my eye and I begged my grandma to let me keep it: an old skeleton key. My grandma's house wasn't old enough to have locks that would need such a key and I assume it likely came from the house my dad grew up in, making the key that much more mysterious.  I wore the key around my neck on a chain for years, throughout high school.  When my grandma passed away in the summer of 2008, the necklace became a talisman.  I used it to carry her love and light with me and I rarely took it off.  One night, I came home from spending time with friends and the chain broke, the necklace finding its way to the floor.  I h...

This time of year gets especially difficult. I used to spend Christmas break at my grandma Mimi's house and I looked forward to it more than just about anything else. I miss waking up to the smell of coffee drifting down the hall to my bedroom.  The sound was even comforting. Of course, this was not the first time I'd wake up in the morning as there was always a chorus of pekingese expressing their interest in going outside, my Buffy scratching at the door begging to join. I miss going around switching on all of the tree lights, as she had more than one beautiful Christmas tree. She also had porcelain dolls holding candles that would sway back and forth at the turn of an on-switch.  Many might find it creepy, but I found it heartwarming. Later in the day, she'd help me tear the bread for stuffing, and give the turkey a "shot" as we called it.  Her rolls were my favorite, soft and warm, moist and scrumptious. Her house was always warm and inviting.  She let ...