Things Brett Ruined for Me
Every day, I think thoughts or like things that annoy myself, because they are all about Brett’s influence. I almost attacked Joshua the other night for reading an old New Yorker magazine he found laying around. “I can’t believe I missed one!” I sneered as I snatched it out of his hand and into the recycling. Here’s a short list of things he ruined for me, to go with the Tiffani list from the summer.
- The New Yorker magazine
- The New York Times Book Review
- Punk Rock and Ska
- Yo La Tango
- Shakespeare (especially the Sonnets and the Histories)
- Indian food
- Coffee shops
- Professors
- Motorscooters
- Christmas
- Tillie’s hair (he keeps cutting it like the Little Dutch Boy, or, as Tillie says, like Maria in The Sound of Music)
- Ben’s knee (see Skinned Knee post. The scar is ENORMOUS)
- The Canterbury Tales
- The Lord of the Rings
- Roseville Pottery
- Arts and Crafts design
- Antique shopping
- My self image
- My relationships with my neighbors
- My memories of childbirth
- My belief in forever
- My freedom
- Superbowl Sunday (DAMN IT!)
- Tiffani
Some of these things are worth taking back. He can keep Tiffani. And the New Yorker subscription.
Revelations and Rebuilding. By Becca Sokolov (beccalov) 
Donald Mills said,
November 19, 2009 at 10:40 pm
For me, Brett ruined:
* My Snoopy Pez Dispenser
* Log Rides at Darian Lake Amusement Park
* French Kissing
* French Dressing
* The UFC
but it could be a different Brett.
Hope you work your way through it
Becca Sokolov said,
November 19, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I would absolutely love it if it turned out you had french kissed Brett. We could compare notes.
Tweets that mention Things Brett Ruined for Me « Revelations and Rebuilding. By Becca Sokolov (beccalov) -- Topsy.com said,
November 20, 2009 at 1:12 am
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by sacha mccloed, Double Sifted. Double Sifted said: Ruining Shakespeare is one thing , but ruining Yo La Tengo is an entirely different matter. http://bit.ly/1HBaF […]
mel said,
November 20, 2009 at 8:26 am
i love arts and crafts and have one piece of roseville pottery–so, eventually, in your mind, brett will be replaced with thoughts of other people when you think of those things.
some things, not. i will never have the noguchi coffee table. robert has it, along with everyone else in the world, so i wouldn’t want it anyway…
tille will grow up resenting her dad for her bizarre hair cuts. not to sound old fashioned and sexist, but what dad gets their daughter’s hair cut? really? steve can’t even part rebecca’s hair correctly after a bath…and he doesn’t want to. he sends her to me.
Becca Sokolov said,
November 20, 2009 at 11:05 am
I actually lost my mind the first time it happened and called Brett. I said through tears, “Tillie’s haircut is very cute. I wonder if you would let me be in charge of her hair. It’s a mom and daughter thing.” He blustered about how she is his daughter to, and how I shouldn’t talk in front of her. I cried and asked him to show me this one kindness. He hung up.
schmutzie said,
November 20, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I’m just dropping in to let you know that this weblog is being featured on Five Star Friday – http://www.fivestarfriday.com/2009/11/five-star-fridays-edition-80.html
Becca Sokolov said,
November 20, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Cool! Can’t wait to see the other stuff on there. Thanks for reading!
Carolyn said,
November 23, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Things Brett Ruined for Me
• Some really nice memories, mostly connected to two of your houses. Especially the night I was sick over Thanksgiving in the study, and lay there in a feverish haze listening to Tillie play the same song over and over by kicking one of her toys. You said it must’ve driven me crazy, but it was actually weirdly comforting. And making risotto with you all while I was starting the second miscarriage—it’s pretty chilling to think that while we were doing that, he was working up to leaving.
• Scooters, yeah, got me on that one.
• Pajama bottoms with coffee cups on them. I always liked those.
• What I thought was a pretty good friendship, with the guy who picked me up after dental surgery and talked about Bon Jovi to cheer me up, who now won’t talk to me at all…because he left his wife? Someone else’ll have to figure this one out.
•FiestaWare (well, okay, I wasn’t that into FiestaWare.)
Things He Didn’t:
• My relationship with my spouse…but no thanks to Brett. Spouse and I had some INTENSE discussions over this thing, that brought some of our deepest predispositions to light. I guess those are easier to survive, though, if you really want to stay married.
• The New Yorker—never wanted to be one of the thousands of people it made to feel elite every month.
• Indian food—it wasn’t his to ruin. Shout-out to saag paneer.
• Canterbury Tales—that winning combination of tenderness and bawdiness toward women is something every woman needs.
•You.
Becca Sokolov said,
November 23, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I guess I have to take some blame on the intense discussion with said spouse. Here’s hoping they make you stronger. I am–in many ways–ruined, but I’m glad I’m not ruined for you.
Carolyn said,
November 24, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Ruin is such a terrible word. In this context, a little Hemingway might actually be kind of cheerful (not normally something I associate with this quote): “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” Maybe it’s better if the world doesn’t have to kill us to break us–I’m in no special hurry either to be killed or to have you killed by it. To descend a long way from Ernest to Gordon, I’d rather think that at some point you’ll be able to race among the ruins.
No blame to you for the intense discussions with spouse–like I said, they were more about who we were, in many ways, than about what triggered them.
Becca Sokolov said,
November 24, 2009 at 2:58 pm
OK, so ruined is NOT dead, and dead is probably worse. I could go with “transformed,” but that’s a bit too new age (and Tiffani) for me…
Shawnie said,
December 2, 2009 at 12:24 am
I like the idea of replacing the things you feel he ruined for you, with other feelings or thoughts….
Christmas… really? Think about the gobs of love and gifts Kitty’s parents would bestow on her (and us) at Christmas time. Did you forget about the Wendy’s Beast Bar Coupons!
The Lord of the Rings… he can’t possibly know as much about Tolkien as Don. Don wants to name our son Thorondor, who apparently is the Lord of the Eagles. I might even give in on that one if it will make you think of our sweet, little Thorondor and not Brett ,in association with the Lord of the Rings.
You ruined? Not a chance.
Becca Sokolov said,
December 2, 2009 at 9:22 am
I didn’t even know it was a boy! Assuming that Thornodor would be inappropriate for a girl. I’m imagining a redheaded black child named Thor. He would be a character.
Thanks for the Christmas memories. I could use a beast bar coupon and a lobster casserole.