My oven is broken. It turns out heavy half-baked loaves that do not rise. My freezer is leaking. At random times, water runs out and pools on the floor. My faucet drips. Dishwasher won’t run. I absentmindedly threw a pair of pantyhose into the washing machine. They got tangled in the gasket. Now that leaks, too. So depressed, I have no energy to cry. My appliances are weeping for me. In a feedback loop of sympathetic dysfunction, turmoil is manifesting through my appliances. For twenty-five years, I was a housewife. It’s over. Kitchen Aids sob. Maytag mourns. Thermador trembles. Broken.

Desirée O’Clair is a writer in Woodstock, New York. She is currently completing her collection of short stories titled Naked At The Seder Table – Will I Ever Be Jewish Enough? She is also working on ELSIE, a one woman show based on telephone conversations with her crazy and much loved Aunt Elsie. Visit her website: http://www.desireeoclair.com