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Just July
Last week, on the first of July, my neighbor Tracy surprised me with this vase of flowers. With it was a handwritten note praising my...
Jul 8, 20242 min read
Bone voyage
“Looks like a knee replacement to me,” a poll worker said when I walkered into my voting precinct last week. “Close!” I responded. “A...
Jun 25, 20242 min read
Joyful June: I Broke Myself
As May drew to an end, I decided I wanted to approach June with a different perspective. Having become increasingly bogged down by the...
Jun 10, 20244 min read
Happy Birthday, Dirty Ramón
Today I feel your presence in the rustling leaves and chirping birds. I taste your appreciation in the Blizzard I got in honor of your...
May 7, 20242 min read
Auld Lang Syne-Off
It’s been ten loooong days since I returned home from Scotland. While there, I saw more beauty than I could process. But part of what...
Mar 26, 20242 min read
Zip it good
Did you know some zippers lock when the pull tab is in the down position? In other words, after zipping, you place the tab down to lock...
Nov 2, 20232 min read
Judge Ramón Alvarado ’05
I type this with tears in my eyes. They’re mostly droplets of gratitude that I had the immense pleasure of spending almost a decade of my...
Oct 26, 20232 min read
What a season!
“What a fun season!” I thought last night as my head hit the pillow. I felt satisfied despite the end of the Braves’ playoff run. But...
Oct 13, 20231 min read
Bursting bubbles (in a good way)
I'd never heard of H Mart when I met Ramón in 2011, but it soon became an integral part of our relationship. H Mart is a Korean grocery...
Sep 8, 20232 min read
Take that, Labor Day
I spent many Labor Days in the hospital in my early 20s. As the seasons began to change, my lungs would get angry, leading to a cystic...
Sep 3, 20232 min read
Not boarding
“I didn’t leave for the airport before I left for the airport.” Yes, that sentence left my mouth earlier this week. I was on the phone...
Aug 18, 20232 min read
Leaving Lackville
I’d typically try to think of a clever way to start a post like this, but I’ll get right to it: I’m fed up with myself. Over the past...
Jul 15, 20233 min read
Field of dreams
Ramón and I took a two-week RV trip in 2018. We'd talked about doing it since we got married, so it was our belated honeymoon in a sense....
Jun 9, 20233 min read
For the birds
Two brown thrashers built a nest in the camelia outside the sunroom window. For the past few weeks, as I sat at my desk, I watched them...
May 16, 20231 min read
44
Ramón’s 37th birthday fell on a Saturday, so we got to spend the entire day together. I told him we could do whatever he wanted. His...
May 7, 20232 min read
Woe to the child (birthday edition)
You know that ol’ medieval European saying, "Woe to the child who tastes salty from a kiss on the brow, for he is cursed and soon will...
May 3, 20234 min read
37th Heaven
I turn 37 on April 26. On the surface, 37 doesn’t sound like a particularly significant age. It’s approaching “I’m almost 40” territory...
Apr 14, 20233 min read
Did Ashton Kutcher Get Punk'd?
"I wish I could give Ashton Kutcher an update," I sometimes think. I wanted him to know when I started performing improv. And when I got...
Mar 24, 20236 min read
Elevate
"Which do you prefer: the beach or the mountains?" "Oh, I'm definitely a beach person," I answered with aplomb, despite having never been...
Mar 19, 20231 min read
On the right track
This is one of my favorite photos from 2022, taken in November. Yes, it’s a selfie, but this was a moment I wanted to capture. I felt so...
Feb 4, 20233 min read
Gallery
My name is Drew Dotson, and my life has been anything but perfect, yet it's still perfectly beautiful. After growing up with a genetic disease, cystic fibrosis, I was blessed to meet an amazing man who loved me without bounds. Then he died.
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