Milestones

by Peggy McFarland

His entire life, she looked forward to each first: his first bath, his first tooth, his first steps, his first words, his first award, his first date, and even his first heartbreak. She felt important and special after sharing each of his life’s milestones. He was still awake, animated and bursting with news, when she arrived home. “Ma, for a dollar, ONE DOLLAR, they put their boobs in your face and motorboat you, and twenty dollars gets you a lap dance - I got two!” His first trip to a strip club stunned her; it just was not a milestone she ever expected to celebrate. She consoled herself with the mother’s mantra: at least he shared this with me.

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Peggy McFarland, whose full catalog is here, writes.