My Blog
I must concede that Christmas is indeed the most magical time of the year. Between the cheery lights, the upbeat snap in the air and the bright faces of excited children, there’s an inescapable wonder to it all. Whether you believe or not, even the elegant mystery of the Nativity can stir the most cynical spirit. It is the season of joy and possibility: the ultimate celebration. But Christmas can also break your heart. The holiday, with its relentless merriment, can exacerbate the ache of…
Although I've thought about it about a lot, I’ve never written about racism. For starters, I wasn’t sure I had the right. But even more, I’ve been too afraid: afraid of creating more pain and anger, afraid of my own ignorance, afraid of exposing less than desirable parts of myself. But in light of recent events in Ferguson, it’s clear that we don’t have the luxury of remaining frozen. I want to talk about it. It may be hard. It may be awkward. But I have…
Uh oh, here comes Thanksgiving. I personally dig it. I love the lazy hang and the big feed. But for a lot of folks, this holiday has the potential for all kinds of trouble. Between trying relatives, disasters in the kitchen, overcharged expectations and bad behavior from inebriates and other ne're do wells, the day can become wrought with stress and unpleasantness. Even the sanest human being can become temporarily unhinged. If you feel yourself dancing that line, please consider one of the following…
This all started with a very large bag of flour. A few months ago, my 21-year old son Emmett and his friend Tucker needed a kitchen to make some bagels for a potential business venture they were considering. Although Emmett has his own apartment, he doesn't cook there–too many cockroaches. (At one point or another, most of us have lived in such a dwelling. It’s a young bohemian’s rite of passage.) They asked to use my kitchen and I, being the proud and supportive mom of…
Circumstances have a way of taking unforeseen turns and sometimes we find ourselves in a situation of living apart from our minor children. There can be a multitude of reasons–divorce, financial issues, geographical moves or even the kid’s own choice–but typically this is not the scenario we’d envisioned when we became mothers. We imagined that we had more time, at least 18 years, and we didn’t expect to be staring at an empty nest so early in the game. It’s a course shift of epic…
Me at three. My mom did not get me. The showdown started early. Mom wanted a baby doll of a little girl whom she could adorn in frilly dresses and patent leather Mary Janes. She dreamt of kempt hair with cute ribbons. What she got, however, was chubby, messy me. I was my own little animal with a bit of a feral streak. I had no use for the corduroy jumpers and matching tights that she perpetually tried to inflict on me. I…
There was some pushing, shoving and panty bunching on Facebook over the past weekend. It resulted in a few folks getting their feathers ruffled and one angry boy taking his ball and going home. Sigh. It all started with football. When the Seahawks play, several people, myself included, post commentary throughout the game. It’s an odd way of enjoying the game together. Sometimes I post a lot, sometimes less so. It depends on my mood and how the game is going. I definitely see many posts…
Ebola has arrived in the U.S. and for the past few weeks, ever since Thomas Duncan was admitted to that Dallas hospital, we’ve been barraged with increasingly histrionic, 24-hour Ebola coverage. As more people become infected, a sense of unease intensifies. The media is slobbering all over this one, accentuating each report with pictures of people in hazmat suits and the little graphic of the virus under microscope. It’s creepy for sure. But should we be alarmed? I have no clue. I only know…
My brain has been sitting across the room from me with its arms folded. It’s not given up anything: a workable idea, an intriguing metaphor or even a cool word. I’ve tried cajoling, bribing and even a few threats. But it continues to hold out on me. The standoff started a few days ago. I’m crazy excited about a new project and have been trying to grab every spare moment to write. Things were firing along nicely; the idea engine was cranking and the language had…
OK, everyone. I’m feeling jolly and I have this crazy thought. I’d like to cordially invite you to have a great week. We can all do it together – a group project! We might not be able to solve all of our individual problems just now but we sure as tootin’ can rock the next seven days, right? We’re cool. We deserve it. I’ll get us going with a few ideas and you can add your own in the comments. We’ll compare notes. It’ll be…
