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Wax Job

May 14, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Mustache? 
What mustache?
After a few well-placed hints from my favorite nail salon ladies, I agreed to my first (and last) upper lip wax. 
As my lip was painted in molten lava, I ignored the smell of burning flesh. Like a wuss I wanted to change my mind on the table, yet I was paralyzed.
With one swift r-i-pppp, my baby fine, blonde lip hair was yanked from the roots along with the top layer of epidermis. 
For ten bucks, I exchanged an invisible mustache for a bright cherry red Kool-aid welt.
I know there are plenty of ladies who get more sensitive areas waxed, but for the life of me, I don’t know how or why.
WhatWasIThinking???

talya

Musical Pairing:

Gnarls Barkley, Crazy

College Boy

May 13, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

My son is home from college

just in time for Mother’s Day.

Only for a week,

but still his sounds comfort me.

Piles of dirty laundry

spill from the utility room.

The washer and dryer work overtime

spinning and churning

as he takes command of my space.

Downstairs I hear the rattle

of plates and silverware

as he prepares a snack,

reloading, re-energizing

after another semester,

another week of finals.

He eats every three hours,

just as he did when he was a baby,

when I was the center of his life,

when the world was new and not so large.

This is his birthday week.

Twenty years old…

The world is vast

and his for the taking.

Happy Birthday Tate!

tate’s mom

“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” – Dr. Seuss

Musical Pairing:
The Beatles, Birthday Song

Dark Secrets

May 11, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

100 Words on Saturday Week 10 Prompt – Dark Secrets



What ‘cha got there Jack?

Startled to see his mother standing in the doorway, he slammed the cigar box lid.

Nothing. Just my box for special things. 

What kind of things?
Just things I find when I’m out playing, and things my friends give me. Michael gave me a matchbox car when I traded my chocolate milk at school… He smiled innocently, looking up from the floor.
Okay, supper’s ready. Her voice trailed down the hallway.
Pulling the fistful of bubble gum from his pocket, he added it to his box of growing secrets, and shoved it under the bed. 

talya

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: 03.29.26
  • Sunday Letter: February 22, 2026
  • Our Garden Mission Statement
  • Goodbye, 2025. Hello, 2026.
  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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