I’ve never been much of a toucher. A talker, yes. A toucher, not so much. My parents -while loving people – are not touchers. It’s not a judgment, just an observation that they were simply not into PDA. When I was in 3rd grade, I remember seeing my friend Deirdre’s parents holding hands and they [...]
I ended my last blog of 2012 with the link to Ann Curry’s 26 Acts of Kindness Challenge. During the 8 hour car ride that kicked off our Christmas road trip, I introduced the idea to the girls. Well, Emma, anyway. Phoebe was too busy licking the dog while singing Frosty the Snowman over and [...]
I didn’t know what to do about posting a blog this week. My head feels like a box of mismatched jigsaw pieces…..all from different puzzles. One voice said, “Just shut up, no one needs to hear from you, show some respect, stay silent.” The voice had some valid points. But then there was this smaller, [...]
Last week I had Phoebe’s first parent-teacher conference with her two pre-school teachers, Sue and Sue. Or as Phoebe calls them, “Da Two Sooze.” As a former teacher, I am wise to the behavioral euphemisms used in parent-teacher conferences. It’s a little like real estate lingo: cozy = shoebox as is= tear down easy access [...]
When Phil drives Emma home from gymnastics, she tells him stuff. Stuff she would never tell me. I can’t imagine why. Phil thinks it’s because I tend to overreact. “WHAT THE F***K ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?” is my response to that. Over turkey sandwiches later that night, Phil gave me a debriefing on their post-gymnastics [...]
There has been a fly buzzing around my head for two days. He rests briefly on the window sill or kitchen counter, but by the time I can grab my rolled up magazine, he is gone: “HAHA! Can’t catch me! What’s wrong with you, slowpoke??!” I’ve been asking myself the same question for about a [...]
To My Husband in Southern California, Let me start by saying that I love you. I appreciate all that you do for us, and how hard you work to support our family. I know that your job is not always glamorous, and that being on the road 50% of the month can be taxing. [...]
We are currently living in a rental beach cottage on the South Shore of Massachusetts, owned by a lovely woman in her 80’s. While looking for the Yellow Pages to use as a booster seat for Phoebe, I came across a Betty Crocker cookbook from 1956. There is something magical about the images in the [...]
A few months ago, while still living in PA, I submitted a little travel essay to the Philadelphia Inquirer: a fun, upbeat little piece about our vacation to Jamaica. If the paper runs your piece, they pay you 25 bucks. That’s two bottles of Pinot Grigio, and not even the ones on special. After a [...]
Once and a while I discover a book that utterly rocks my world. I have found that in Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar. Tiny Beautiful Things is a compilation of Strayed’s online advice column for the website The Rumpus. Writing under the pen name “Sugar,” Strayed replies [...]
