Paloma Cruz – stories from an ordinary life …

My mother is spending the weekend at my place. This morning, after I showered and spent a little bit of time working.
MOM: “I heard you up and around early today.”
ME: “I told you last night I had an 8 am Zumba class, Mom.”

My attempts at remaining calm are starting to show cracks. I want liquor or a pill or a time machine … I want it all to just be over.
And the truth is that I haven’t suffered the effects of the flood yet. While I’m stuck away from home, I haven’t had to go without shelter or power or food or any of my comforts. While I know that my home is probably going to be under water before we...

In the next month I have 7 health appointments. Yes, 7.
No, I’m not seriously ill. The truth is that only one of the appointments is mine. The other 6 are my mother’s. After years of resistance I finally convinced her to do all those exams and other things that she’s been putting off. There appointments include...

I got sick and I’m still sick. Why can’t they just make it go away?
Last Tuesday I woke up sick. There wasn’t any real indication that I should expect it. I went to sleep well and woke up hacking up a lung. It was seasonal allergies, I’m pretty sure. And I treated it with the regular over-the-counter medications. And...