My only advice
Recently my 28-year-old daughter called me to ask for advice on the state of her love life. If something makes me feel sick, should I settle for what I have now? Or should I keep looking for someone who “checks all boxes”? I can only tell her this because I have three marriages and three divorces behind me. And I have no regrets for a second. – Yvonne Herbst
The stranger in the cinema
Winter was on the last foot when we saw “Creed III” together. He first said hello as he waited for the lights to dim at the crowded St. Louis cinema. I said hello and took him: kind eyes, smooth skin, a beautiful whisker, a warm smile. What! Lined up, we enjoyed the film and eventually swapped numbers during the credits shutdown. “You wouldn't believe the way we came here,” Jerome told me later. It turns out he swapped spots with a married couple whose original tickets sat separately. A few years later, we celebrate the fateful “Creed Burzaree” in another film (this time we are intentionally sitting together). – Lincey Ellis
Catch mom's sweet rock
Long before selfies and cell phones, my mother was always the woman behind the camera. An ugly Minolta hangs around her neck. It was almost impossible to find a picture of her for a school project. She took so many photos, but was rarely drawn. The scenery wasn't interested in her. Friends and family were her favourite subjects. Determined to capture her expression now, I scroll through the stupid Snapchat filters during her chemistry session. Her favorite filter is the exotic mane that replaces the lock she has lost. “Look at all my hair,” she laughs, blurry filtering the background injection bag. These candid snaps are our Grand Canyon moments. – Lisa Wylie
An unusual promise
I met a beautiful blue-eyed man at Habitat for Humanity Build in Hawaii. He was a carpenter. I was an amateur with too much enthusiasm for nail guns. One day we sat outside and took in the lush green scenery. It's the mountain behind the field with horses and donkeys. “What do you think?” he said, “You and me, the house, a few kids? I'll buy you a butt.” This unusual beg worked. That night we kissed for the first time. Years later, shortly after we got married, he finally bought me the promised (stuffed animal) butt. – Jill Yonit Goldberg
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