I’ve had wake-up moments in my life that would imply that I was in some manner asleep. Sharing these moments with those I love is helpful in conveying an existence beyond the small world of my teenagers, who delight in knowing the imperfections in their mother. As Wavy Gravy said, we are all bozos on the same bus together. Here goes, my top four wake-up calls:

1. Age eight: I was told by the nuns in catechism school that I, as a girl, could never be a priest. This broke my heart. I decided that church was not the place for me. Any place that does not honor you is not the place for you.

2. Age 20-something: the man I loved shoving me on New Year’s Eve after badgering me about the hundred ways in which I was wrong… in his mind. The next day, I woke up, packed my bags, and left that guy. Any partner who doesn’t see you as manna from heaven is wrong. (That’s a mashup of David Whyte. Here’s Whyte’s original: “…you must learn one thing: the world was made to be free in… anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.”