And my roundabout love story Renovations is part of the fun!
This essay is actually many years old. I wrote its first incarnation as part of my creative nonfiction workshop in the University of New Orleans's MFA program back in 2004.
As a poetry student, I remember being so nervous to have the creative nonfiction specialists read and critique my essay, especially after reading their amazing work. Was I ever gratified when they offered their enthusiastic support!
Yet it took me a long time to try putting it into wider circulation. Part of it was my insecurity about my nonfiction; part of it was nervousness about exposing so much about myself (and possibly embarrassing the people in the story). I don't know how memoirists do it! Years ago, I received a very nice rejection and then let it sit...and sit.
Finally, with the passage of time, I felt enough distance to consider it purely from a technical standpoint. I dug it out, dusted it off, and realized it offered a perspective you don't hear too often: a grown, partnered woman with a crush. Uncomfortable, sure, but ultimately relatable.
Luckily, Hypertext's editors agreed!
