Rachel Melcher's Page

On day twenty-two, I finished reading Kerry Cohen's Loose Girl: A Memoir on Promiscuity. I was inspired by the author's unflinching honesty and self-awareness throughout the book. She told stories about her sexual history that were heartbreaking and got to the very root of why she, and maybe a lot of other girls, have sex for all the wrong reasons. Why don't women talk about things like that? I don't consider my past particularly promiscuous and yet there was so much material I could… Continue

My ambitious plan for November was to get my condo association involved in a door-to-door food drive. I had it all mapped out, how I'd collect pantry items weekly from outside the eighteen front doors of the residents of our building, how I could post a little success chart (pounds of food collected, perhaps) by the back door where everyone could see it. I was so excited! I sent out an email to our association's board to make sure I was allowed to solicit for donations via an email on our… Continue

On Friday, I had every intention of getting to the shipping store to send away a few packages I'd wrapped up. My son's afternoon nap, however, was almost four hours instead of his usual 60 minutes. By the time he'd woken up, I was still in my pajamas and it was already full dark. I didn't have much time to get us all put together and out the door!



I hurried up to the shower, leaving my son in the care of Dora the Explorer. Getting out, I realized I'd forgotten to get a towel… Continue

Looking to be of service to a local family, I packed up the last material reminders of my son's life as an infant. Five paper grocery bags were soon bulging with clothing, board books, rattles, teethers, plush animals and even his adorable little baby piano. Surveying the house afterwards, I noticed his little-used rocking horse and decided to add that to the bunch. I posted an ad to the FREE section of my city's Craigslist.org and waited for a reply.



Within minutes, my inbox was… Continue