Growing up we had a blanket closet at the end of the hall that was just my size. Because there were so many kids in our family, I was a little starved for attention. Often I would declare I was leaving the family and hide in the closet. I’d come out a few minutes later and alas, no one had gone looking for me. One time I was determined to stay so long, they’d have to miss me. I ended up falling asleep and woke up to a police officer’s light shining in my eyes.

We had a trampoline that was old and worn and bouncy. It also was primarily the kid domain--neither of my parents were interested in bum wars or add-on or other trampoline games. My sister Katy and I would sometimes sleep out on the tramp but only if we got one of our teenage brothers to do it with us--that was the rule. One time we convinced my brother Dad to do it. Katy and I woke up in the middle of the night because it was cold and went inside, leaving Dan behind. In the morning when he woke up, he was covered in snow!

My room was always a mess but it was my mess and I loved it. It was so messy that when Halloween came around, I’d close my eyes, spin around and throw handfuls of candy. This guaranteed I’d be finding tootsie rolls and peanut butter cups for weeks.