Sickness

Some things from my childhood I can play back in my mind as if it happened yesterday. I can remember trying to fall asleep in my day bed on the opposite side of the room from my sister while the back hallway light beamed in on me when I was little. My mother and aunt Suzie whispered over my sickness and the fact that I hadn't brushed my teeth. I could hear everything they were saying because I kept really still and pretended I actually was sleeping. My aunt being a nurse, told my mother that there was no need to brush my teeth because I was sick. My aunt died in a car accident not long after and I have taken this bit of cherished memory to heart. Meaning that while I am sick at home I do not brush my teeth because I was told I didn't have to. If I do need to leave I cave in and brush them, but not without a little fight with my conscious.

Merriweather