Pepper McSausage Picks

A pick a day until my mom comes back to life.

Today I had to say goodbye to my brother for a few months while I return home to live my life there. The goodbyes are always hard, but this one in particular left me in rough shape emotionally. Since I could remember, my parents were separated. And while they had shared custody, when I was like 7 or 8 years old, my mom moved 3+ hours out and I only got to visit on holidays and summer break. From then til high school, like clockwork, every time I’d return home from my mom’s I’d cry myself to sleep. I always felt this emotional weight, like I was abandoning them cuz they always made me feel like they’d be just there waiting (in like purgatory) until I returned. I was also something of the peace keeper there as I got older, so even when I stopped crying hysterically at night, I always felt like I was leaving a ticking time bomb. Then came college, which presented different emotional land mines, but that’s all to say eventually I was able to unpack the emotional weight of saying goodbye. Until now. It has all come full circle since my mom died. All the fears of what would happen in my absence have come to fruition in recent years, and peaked with my mom’s grand exit. I can’t shake the guilt of having my own life. I can’t shake the feeling that she would’ve gotten better had I been there to take care of her. And even if I couldn’t have saved her, had I been there, I could’ve at least been able to say I did everything I could have. Though I’m sure I would’ve found new ways to blame myself. I love choose-your-own-adventure stories, but I can never convince myself that the path I took was the right one lol.

Speaking of, yesterday’s Puka play was an L. Though I respect Matt Stafford for trying to get him a pity score after hooking up on another TD with his new bestie Davante.

Today’s Pick: ZION WILLIAMSON OVER 4.5 ASSISTS

In a similar vein as yesterday, when everyone is looking one way, we divert our attention the other way. Dairy Queen is collecting all the love in NOLA nowadays, but Zion is still a wonderful playmaker getting playmaker usage, even when sharing the court with DQ. Which Borrego hasn’t been scared to do since taking the helm.

Good luck everyone and, as always, I’ll see you on the other side!

Pick record: 12-13 (no thank you Puka)