Next Time I’ll Bring My IKEA Hat

I met up with Felix a couple days ago. We met at the halfway point between us now that he lives in WV and I in MD. I met up first with my friend, Ginnie, for coffee because she happens to live in the town that is exactly halfway between us. Tim does too... But,…

Scaring Helene

Speaking of Helene running from an unknown scary entity in the dark.... I have a couple of memories of scaring Helene in particular. She was so easy. I recall times such as being at her house for a sleepover, we were looking in a basement closet for something - peering from the doorway to see…

If Helene Starts to Run

I could swear I've told this story before... but I can't find it on this blog, my old blog, or in the manuscript for my original book... There's a broken link in a post where I talk in general about Annemieke on my old blog, I think maybe I did and then accidentally deleted it…

In the Missionaries’ Apartment

"Tell Nicho to stop gaslighting me," I said, half jokingly. I had told Felix the story of thinking for 20-odd years that Nicho and Frida had had sex at the party I had thrown when I lived in the missionaries' apartment in senior year. Only to have Frida vehemently dispute this when I met up…

Done With Me? Naaaah. She Still Loves Me.

Maja said she is done with me. Haha, sure sure Maja... This is, what? The umpteenth time you're done with me now? I was having conversations with Felix and conversations with the girl group - Maja, Ulice, and Frida - over the last weekend. At some point in the girl chat we were discussing the…

Furby Story

Hannah, my sister, and I liked to play tricks on each other. I remember mostly things that I did to her because, naturally, my tricks were much more hilarious. One time when we were living in Sweden, I went upstairs and discovered that she was in the bathroom. I stepped up quietly and put my…

You Want to What to Who Now?

“It’s your turn to sit in the back, Emma.” “Only if you put the top up!” I said as I climbed into the back of Stacey’s convertible. It was the middle of Swedish winter and we had made Annemieke ride in the back on the way to the Young Life meeting. Stacey liked to put…

We Were Useless That Night

One night, I was walking down Sveavägen, a big main road in Stockholm, with Bethany with the intent to meet up with someone. Drew, I think, initially... But there were supposed to be a handful of people wherever we were going to be ending up. I think it had to do with a church youth…

It’s a Small, Small World

This memory is before I moved to Sweden, but it was still high school era... and given that I'm going through memories again after catching up with Felix... Well, Felix knew Michael. The next year, Michael was in India going to school with Felix. Then the year after that is when I met Felix in…

The “Bible Study” Group

In Sweden, I used to hang out with a particular group of non-school friends a lot. I met the American sisters Bethany and Christa through church, and we would get together for what was initially supposed to be a small group Bible study thing with a couple other guy friends. Eventually it kind of side…