Author: christrelstad

I just received my final grade for this piece. I am very happy to say I had 100% and a great review from my instructor. She may have mentioned I tell a great story. I thought I would repost the new and improved. Back in the early nineties, I worked as a receptionist in a… Continue reading Bad Ass: Revised

Women in their fifties are not getting their authentic story told. We are notorious liars. We lie about our weight, our age, our sex lives, and we even tell the biggest lie of them all, everything is just fine, when in fact, most of the time everything is not fine. One percent of being in… Continue reading Everything Is Just Fine

Back in the early nineties I worked as a receptionist in a beauty salon with twelve hairdressers. My job was more than just making appointments for cuts, curls, and colors. I did sales and purchases of the various beauty products sold. I collected chair rental from the beauticians every Friday. I washed and folded towels… Continue reading Bad Ass

This is a small part of a rough draft for my creative non-fiction class... Before I turned fifty, my wardrobe was conservative with hues of brown, black and for contrast, grey. I wore outfits that a Catholic nun would approve. My hemlines were safe and my neckline never dipped more than two inches from my… Continue reading Colorful

Just a quick free-write. Yes, I know I should be doing my homework. Actually, this is my prompt…..HOMEWRORK. Okay….five minutes….GO! I honestly do not know how I do it. I am taking four classes and raising a teenager. I know this may sound weird…but I sometimes just marvel at myself for not only getting my… Continue reading Homework: Five minute free-write

I have many scars on this fifty-five-year-old body. Some are good scars, like the escape hatch at the bottom of my droopy belly. My two children are helpers in that scar. If I did not have my c-section I would not have them. Some scars are just typical war wounds of life. There is a… Continue reading Scars

I recently went on a backpacking trip with two great friends. We hiked with our packed gear a mile into the wilderness of the Porcupine Mountains. Staying five nights in a yurt above the Little Union River, this trip was far from any glamping exhibition. No electricity, no running water, and the outhouse, our only… Continue reading It is Never Too Late

This is a "sampler". You know how your cool artist friend has a sketch book with pages of sample drawings? Okay, this is just like that, only with words. It came to me last night while watching my son, Thor, play basketball. Her toenails were so pretty. Shining bright with a color that was a… Continue reading Her Toenails Were so Pretty

Every August fifth for the last twenty-seven years, Bridget goes some place quiet. She looks for forgiveness. She hasn’t found it yet. Graham was a new patient at Gables Dentistry. He came in every six months faithfully for his cleaning and check-up. Bridget worked as the receptionist and after Graham’s third visit she was smitten.… Continue reading Thirteen Dollars and Eighty-Three Cents