Back in the day, when we had a real home phone (landline and all), my sister and I weren’t allowed to just answer it with a plain “hello.” Nope. My mom had a script. We had to say, “Riley residence, Jackie speaking,” clearly, politely, and with a smile you could hear through the phone. It felt so official, like we were working at a front desk instead of just trying to talk to our friend from school. I remember thinking, Why is this such a big deal? It’s just the phone.

One of the sayings my mom used to always say when I was younger was, “We can do it the easy way or the hard way.” I remember hearing it a lot when I was in trouble, especially when I refused to apologize. I was super stubborn as a kid, if I fought with my sister or took something I shouldn’t have, I knew I’d messed up, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say the words “I’m sorry.” My mom would try to get me to apologize, and I’d either mumble something half-hearted like, “Fine, I’m sorry,” or insist, “I already said that,” hoping it would be enough. But it never was.

When I was 7, I made a choice I’m not proud of, but it’s a memory I'll never forget. My mom, my sister, and I were all at the grocery store, and I spotted this adorable stuffed animal kitten. I wanted it so badly, but my mom said no. For some reason, I decided to take it anyway. I tucked the kitten inside the front pocket of my overalls, hoping no one would notice. But, of course, my mom saw it the second we got to the car. I thought I was in the clear, but I was so wrong.