05.25.01 - 8:11 p.m.

I don�t know why everyone is excited about Memorial Day weekend. It was never a big deal for my family � I don�t have any fabulous memories of picnics or reunions � the only good thing that happened was the Monday without school. Now I don�t even have Monday off, so, really. What�s the point?

Actually, I have one memory of some kind of get-together, but I don�t know if it happened on Memorial Day or not. I had a bunch of friends over, maybe I was having a little-kid party, and I distinctly remember my dad chasing my mom out of the backyard and into the house, and there was some shouting. I remember my mom trying to pretend like they were playing a game, that it was all in fun, but I was so embarrassed because I knew they were really fighting and it happened in front of all my friends. It was a few months later, I think, that my mom called me into her bedroom and told me she and Dad were getting a divorce and we were moving to Greensburg. I wouldn�t tell my friends what was going on, or let my parents put a for-sale sign in front of our house, so no one would know.

God. I�ve been in denial my whole life.

I remember my dad shooting off fireworks one Fourth of July, and one flew into the so-called garden in the backyard and started a small fire, or broke the fence around it, or something. I was really distraught about this, and now I can�t even remember why. No one ever took care of the garden but me � I don�t even know who it was originally intended for. I picked all the beans and lettuce, and pulled the tiny carrots out of the ground.