Discovering drop-in yoga classes was like finding a new soothing religion without the legacy of holy wars and tithing. For about $15, I can stretch and strengthen and not smile or talk if I don't want to.  And there's no long-term commitment other than to the moment.
 
So wherever I travel, I research yoga classes and drop into a whole new way to commit to a city. Or not.   

Photo of "Pebbles" quilt by Lora Keller
 
 

Angel food cake was my choice every year. It seemed like so much trouble – the whipping of egg whites, the cooling of a two-part pan upside down on a Pepsi bottle, the butter cream frosting. And I was worth a little trouble once a year. 
 
This year my mom forgot the day. She also forgets to brush her teeth. And I asked everyone else to forget too. No gifts. No candles. No song. And it was my favorite birthday.
 
I'm not sure why I'm adrift from my birthday. Other people's celebrations are a blast. I think I just prefer each day flush with another, no one day better than another.
 
I did buy a cake. Just for me. A three-layer, raspberry-filled, butter-cream-frosted yellow cake.

Photo of detail from "At 13" textile piece by Lora Keller
 

In small doses, my husband and I are a fun couple. But we are a little intense and kind of boring.
 
When we occasionally indulge in parties, sometimes someone thinks she'd like to be friends with me. She consults my husband who tries to dissuade her as she prods him to explain his reticence. “Lora's pretty busy with her work... her demented mom... our wayward son... her one good friend.”
 
I'm not sure if he's protecting me or her.

“Hydrants” by Lora Keller

My neighbor blamed me for the electric company badly trimming her pine tree when she was on vacation for a month while I was at work. If there wasn't a fence between us, she would have punched me.
 
At first I wanted to call my husband. Then her daughter. Then I began to seethe with righteous words. But when she came back to rant some more, I told her I understood her anger and disappointment and that she was being abusive to me. The rage hissed right out of her and she was calm.
 
You could say all that yoga and mindfulness and marriage counseling paid off. But later I still cried a little and detoxed with four hours of TV and a slice of cake.

Photo of my “Cold Sore” textile piece