Soft-shell crabs. The warm spot in the ocean, a broken heart, the lead in the school play. Last licks.
Seahorses, your target heart rate, the jalapeño cornbread basket, and a bad hair day.
Cherry blossoms, Marathon Sunday, sleep, and cabin fever.
Your library book, veal, your magazine subscriptions, and the rain.
The miniature marshmallows in your instant hot chocolate, a fear of the dark, the previews at the movie theater.
Food coma, The U.S. Open, and the batteries in your remote.
Pub lunches, crisp fries piled onto your burger, a bucket of golf balls, and the last set of lat pull-downs. Ripe melons.
Sleep-away camp romances, lightening bugs, airings of It’s a Wonderful Life, and long nails.
Root canal, comic-strips, and Saturday morning cartoons.
A rush of adrenaline, training bras, and feeling satiated after eating Chinese food.
Getting your ass kicked at Scrabble, candlelight, luminous copper pots, and sore feet.
A clean shave, virginity, parking meters, and some marriages.
My moods, our health, drinks with umbrellas, and the day.
His bad temper, a bad haircut, pimples, sunburn, and the heat.
A restraining order.
That job offer, your waistline, and Bush’s term.
Free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s, The Spice Girls, the flavor of your gum, and orgasms.
Beaujolais Nouveau, opportunity, friendships, pain, and infatuation.
Jersey tomatoes, the ozone layer, card games, and staring contests.
All baseball records (aside from Cal Ripken Jr.’s consecutive games and Pete Rose’s hitting streak).
Perms, the mint that grows in your yard, and a hockey power play.
Trading hours, oil prices, Menudo, and baby teeth.
Snowfall, hiccups, an itch, and apple-picking season.
Dim sum Sunday, a cab ride from 82nd and Lex to Blue Ribbon Sushi, and winter according to the groundhog.
The lines at Thunder Mountain, the scent of Evelyn roses, the pre-show of the Academy Awards, and small talk.
A crackling fire, hangovers, history, and Stila lip glaze tubes.
L’oreal anti-frizz gel, light bulbs, and the summer.
Road construction on the L.I.E., a standing ovation, shoulder pads, and my friendship with #6.
The spotlight, double-breasted suits, big hair, and names like Myrtle.
The New Kids On The Block, mistakes, and Lent.
Hunger, a warm plate of cookies, dinosaurs, school, first impressions, and life.
Your mother-in-law’s visit from out of town, the Cabbage Soup Diet, the honeymoon, and foreskin.
Things that are not:
a diamond is forever, scars, regrets, and our love for our children.
