A Spoonful of Something

I began to use illness––real or invented––to avoid things that were uncomfortable or overwhelming.

One morning when I was getting ready to go to school, my mom said she thought I looked ill, and wanted me to stay home. I refused, because I had studied hard for a spelling test, and I felt fine. I knew every word and I wanted to ace it. Spelling was something I did well, and I was proud of it. I went to school that day and had a grand mal seizure in fr…