Random Autobiography

I remember the Muscular Dystrophy carnival fundraiser in my backyard.
Libby, the giant golden lab that we gave to Ducks Unlimited.
The taste of fresh, red and white radishes that my dad grew in the garden.
The night I missed out on seeing Peggy Fleming at the Ice Capades.
I remember getting caught skinny-dipping in a cold Wisconsin lake in late July.
Playing the bassoon in the high school band.
Waving from the back of a pick-up truck in the Homecoming Parade.
I dreamt about my stepfather’s impending death the night he died.
I remember praying nightly for that same stepfather to die,
And I never regretted it.
I gave an engagement ring back to my great love and walked away,
And then watched him marry another a month later and then another and another.
I gave up 13 years of my life to raise my daughters on my own.
I watched my dreams shatter in the bush.
I remember the cold fear while trying to sleep with the doors barricaded and a loaded .357 Magnum on my bedside table.

I remember what normal felt like.