Just Barely » Family

Come to Think of it, My Brother John is Kind of a Jerk

Amy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:39:19 +0000

...There I would be, riding gaily down the sidewalk on my pink banana seat Schwinn, listening to a Disney tape that I had in a portable cassette player in the basket of my bike, when John would come out of nowhere to burn my tires. I never knew he was there until he was about fifteen feet away, and by then it was too late. In nervous terror I would look over my shoulder and there he was, with his growth stunted legs pumping those pedals (so help me God, he reached speeds of thirty miles an hour), hellbent on catching me. "Better ride faster, I'm gonnnnnnnnnna get you," he taunted, knowing full well that I couldn't out run him. Two seconds later came the burn... read more

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]

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]

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]

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]

When the Outside Comes In

Amy — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 10:40:00 +0000

Birds are interesting to look at and sing pretty songs. We’ve always fed them and encouraged them to brighten our yard. They are beautiful creatures—when they’re outside. Something happens when they cross the thresh hold into your home, though, that transforms them into winged beasts of terror.

Writing “Intruders Beware” reminded me of a… [keep reading]