My favorite way I remember you is delighting over the nooks and crannies of a toasted English muffin with VT butter.
And when I listen to the Wallflowers, U2, XTC, New Radicals, Sheryl Crow, Pearl Jam, RadioHead and Alanis.
When I'm very disciplined.
When I put on my charm.
When I write from the heart.
When I am good at selling.
When I am good at negotiating.
When I am organized.
When I'm driving.
When I'm sarcastic.
When I'm a struggling perfectionist relenting for excellence.
When I care about nice things.
When I'm provocative.
When I have good taste.
When I'm thinking about futurism and science fiction.
When I'm bombastic or indignant.
When I earn a living.
When I'm a totally unapologetic seriously-fortified unwavering badass.
When I care about the details.
When I go to great lengths to share with someone a powerful experience.
When I look at my checking and savings.
When I use my hand to drum to the beat.
When I'm shy and embarrassed to act weird or tenderly.
When I contemplate American (G)irls.
When I care to listen and help others.
When I’m mad at the liberals!
And it’s an inescapable birthright and necessity of my wholeness for my mom and Justin to be part of my success as well.
The high sensitivity. The soft. The mysterious. The feminine. The divergent. The livid. The private. The emergently-abled. The solitary. The special needs. The disabled. The irrational. The freedom. The burden. The marginalized. The ecstatic. The deep well of loving-kindness, compassion and tolerance.
I am my mother's daughter. I am my father's daughter. I am my brother's sister. I am my maternal lineage. I am my paternal lineage. I am my generation. I am a writer. I am a devotee. I am a teacher. I am a student. I am a victim. I am a perpetrator. And much more.
There were more than one Marlena.