Just Barely » Best ofs

Holiday Card Remix

Amy — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:08:13 +0000

Recently I did a rewrite of last year’s Holiday Card story for Babble. It was supposed to run this week in their holiday edition, but got the axe at the last minute. The “kill” money (which is a pretty sweet term to use when telling writers you’re not going to use their story-stab, stab!) should… [keep reading]

Two Skilled Adults

Amy — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:00:14 +0000

The children got a playhouse from Steve’s side of the family for Christmas. It looked really nice when I saw it on the floor at Sam’s Club, so I was all, “Yeah, get that! It’ll be great!” I knew some assembly would be required, but in my mind Steve and I would build… [keep reading]

Amish Nightmare

Amy — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:51:00 +0000

“I have a question to ask you,” my friend told me over the phone. She sounded a little nervous, and I wondered what in the world she could want. “Would you be interested in taking an Amish bread starter?” Really, that was it? A bread starter? That sounded pretty harmless. “It’s okay if you… [keep reading]

Punch Line

Amy — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:57:00 +0000

The youngest has started telling jokes–or at least a one-year-old’s equivalent of jokes. Her punch line changes every week, but when it’s in vogue, it’s consistent. The first was diaper. “Are you mommy’s baby?” I asked as I rocked my woman-sized youngest daughter. “No Mommy’s baby… Daddy’s baby!” “You’re Daddy’s baby?” “No Daddy’s baby, Ella’s… [keep reading]

Holiday Card

Amy — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:05:00 +0000

Ah, the Holiday card picture. I doubt there’s a person under the age of forty who hasn’t been made to pose for one at some point in their lives. I’ve had to do so for thirty years now (my siblings and I hoped it would end when we started having our own kids, but it… [keep reading]

Loving Each Others

Amy — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:32:00 +0000

My brothers spent most of their adolescence trying to knock each other’s heads off. They were best friends.

For a while I was in on it, too. I had the distinct advantage of being a normal size adopted kid in a family of biologically short siblings. As such, I towered over my brothers and was… [keep reading]

Going to Agumano

Amy — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:08:00 +0000

This story is long overdue, but it was interrupted by Quandaries (making it indeed, the nature of Just Barely), and then by laundry, and then by dinner, and then by snotty noses…

I should have gone to check on them, but I needed to get their lunch ready and it was so… [keep reading]

Regarding the Easter Bunny

Amy — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:11:00 +0000

This story is from last year, but I think it deserves a repeat. Happy Easter, everyone!

Growing up we were always away on vacation for Easter, and for one reason or another The Bunny didn’t make it to Florida. There was a feeble attempt at hiding eggs for my cousins and I one year… [keep reading]

Very Public Restroom

Amy — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:57:00 +0000

Ella is very observant, and she feels the need to announce to everyone what everyone else, including herself, is doing. When she uses it to tell on herself or other people, this tendency is often times helpful, for example, “Mommy, I opened the front door all by myself!” or, “Mommy, Addison is eating shards of… [keep reading]

Just Barely Best Friends

Amy — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:22:00 +0000

Last fall my daughter told me I was her best friend. It was the first time I had ever heard her use that phrase, and my heart melted. Later that evening, as she played in the dirt while my husband and I sat in the back yard, I overheard her telling a plastic garden shovel… [keep reading]